


Strange Visitor

by AXEe



Series: Strange Tales from Another Planet [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Gen, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-08-22 07:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 104
Words: 117,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8277706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: What if Jeremiah Danvers sacrificed his life to save another alien, instead of J'onn J'onzz?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Small Worlds](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6727744) by [roryteller](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roryteller/pseuds/roryteller). 



**Ten years ago…**

Jeremiah Danvers shivered and threw another twig onto the fire. Getting stuck out in the middle of the Pacific Northwest in the middle of fall at night was probably not one of his best ideas. He glanced over at the alien sitting a few feet away from him, but, he amended his last thought, it might be worth it if he could keep this being from getting slaughtered by Hank

“You know, the fire’s not going to hurt you,” he called out “but it’ll keep me from freezing to death tonight,” he added, he chuckled “not unless you’re willing to cuddle,” he muttered, the alien briefly glanced up but said nothing “OK, you don’t like fire” Jeremiah reasoned

“My planet…burned” the alien said suddenly, reaching out to warm her hands by the fire as Jeremiah examined her. She looked human, frighteningly so, with long curly dark hair and piercing grey eyes, the only thing made her stand out was the long streak of white dyed into her hair, and even that could have been excused as a simple fashion choice. If he passed her on the street he probably wouldn’t give her a second glance, and he suddenly saw why people like Hank Henshaw were so afraid of aliens, that didn’t mean that ruthlessly killing them without question was right, far from it, but he understood the reasons behind the fear, if they could hide so easily, could blend in because they actually _looked_ human, then they could do…anything, they could help people like Clark did, or they could massacre thousands.

“What planet are you from?” Jeremiah finally asked, although he had a pretty good idea. The alien shook her head, and there was an aching sadness in the motion, as if even thinking about the _name_ of her homeworld caused her pain

“What does it matter,” she said at last “you’re here to kill me,” she scoffed as she looked away “and you call _me_ a threat” she spat

“No, no, no,” Jeremiah stood up quickly “OK, the agency that I work for,” he began “they’re the ones who pegged you as a threat, as a…an enemy. That was before you saved me,” he shivered at the memory of how he nearly tumbled down that ravine after the ground gave way, if she hadn’t grabbed his arm (while floating twenty feet off the ground no less) and pulled him to safety he’d be a goner “that was before I learned that you’re not a threat,” he shook his head imploringly “you’re not,” he repeated “you’re a _refugee_. Like my daughter,” he reached into his vest pocket, pulling out the snapshot he always carried with him, to remind himself of why he was willingly associating himself with a bunch of trigger-happy butchers “this one, here,” he held out the photo to the alien “Kara, she’s adopted,” he explained “she’s not from ‘here’ either” he watched as the alien’s—no, the _woman’s_ —face changed as she took the photo, she looked…stunned, shocked, and hopeful all at once

“Kara” she whispered, sounding like she was going to start sobbing any second

“You know her” the woman nodded shakily as she slowly traced her fingers across the photo

“My niece” she whispered

“So…you are from Krypton” Jeremiah realized quietly, a quiet, tearful nod was his answer. The woman looked up at him

“You took her in,” she said softly, almost disbelieving “you helped her, raised her as your own” Jeremiah nodded

“Just like she was my own daughter,” he chuckled “that one there, Alex, she’s…well, I guess you could say that she’s Kara’s sister,” he chuckled “she’s tough, they both are, in their own way, but Alex looks out for Kara, keeps her safe”

“Sisters,” the woman repeated softly, as she slowly, almost reverently, passed the photo back to him “Kara’s…mother was…my sister” she said softly as Jeremiah took the photo back and tucked it back into his pocket

“Look,” Jeremiah began “when I link up back with my team, I’m going to tell them about you, about what you did for me” 

“I won’t be someone’s experiment!” she snarled

“You won’t,” he insisted, he hoped not “I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you safe, to help you find your place in the world, reunite you with Kara if you want,” he straightened up “my name is Jeremiah Danvers,” he introduced himself “you can consider me a friend” he held out his hand, the woman stared at his hand for a few moments, clearly studying him, trying to see if he was being sincere or if this was just an elaborate trap. Finally she straightened up and offered her own hand

“I am General Astra In-Ze” she introduced herself, Jeremiah smiled

“Nice to meet you, Astra” he reached for her hand only for her to freeze, every muscle tense, ready to flee any second. He watched as she cautiously looked around, scanning for signs of danger

“Someone’s here” she whispered. There was a sharp _crack_ , like a gunshot, and a bright bolt of green light suddenly shot out of the brush, striking Astra in the upper thigh, Jeremiah watched in horror as she howled in agony, falling to the ground, and clutching at her leg as blood seeped through her fingers

“GOT IT!!” Jeremiah looked around frantically as a figure tore through the underbrush

“No, no, no! Stop! Hank! Stop!” Jeremiah watched, helplessly, as Hank Henshaw quickly pinned Astra to the ground with a boot to her chest. He hefted the heavy rifle in his hands

“I designed these bullets especially for you, Kryptonian!” he hissed “’the only person who had even half a chance of saving Krypton’,” he mocked “you know who said that? Superman,” he chuckled “sure means something coming from him” from her position on the ground Astra glared at Jeremiah

“This is who you ally yourself with?!” she demanded “this butcher?!” Henshaw coldly fired a second round into Astra’s shoulder, seeming to enjoy her pained scream as the bullet tore through skin and muscle 

“Looks like you’re getting your strength back,” he commented even as she writhed in pain “best finish you off quick”

“Hank! Stop!” Jeremiah lunged, grabbing Henshaw’s arm “she’s a good person! She—” Henshaw roughly shoved him back, forcing Jeremiah to the ground

 ** _“IT’S NOT A PERSON!!”_** he roared, he raised the rifle, at level with Astra’s head. Jeremiah lunged, throwing Henshaw to the ground, they grappled, Henshaw fought dirty, kicking, punching, scratching at his hands and head. For a moment, Henshaw got the upper hand, there was a flash of silver, and Jeremiah winced at the sharp pain in his stomach. He glanced to his side, seeing the same ravine he nearly fell into before Astra had grabbed him. Digging his fingers into Henshaw's vest, he rolled over, letting gravity do the rest, watching with a grim and morbid sense of satisfaction as Hank Henshaw went tumbling, screaming, into the abyss.

He groaned as pain suddenly lanced through him, he took a breath and it sounded _wet_ , he risked a glance down, staring at the knife buried to the hilt in his stomach. That…wasn’t good he though giddily. Surprisingly gentle hands suddenly eased him over onto his back. Astra sat there, still bleeding from her leg and shoulder, her expression one of pain and sadness. Wincing, Jeremiah raised his already numb hand and managed to awkwardly pull the photo out of his pocket, he weakly placed it into Astra’s hand, gently curling her fingers around it

“T-t-take care of my girls” he pleaded, Astra nodded quietly, somberly

“I will,” she vowed “I am…glad to have met you, Jeremiah Danvers,” she said softly “and I am sorry that I could not know you better” she whispered 

"So am I" Jeremiah replied, and with that Jeremiah Danvers breathed his last


	2. Job Offer

******

**Two years ago…**

Alex groaned, her head hurt, the stupid heels she was wearing hurt her feet, and worse she was stone-cold sober, sober enough to know that being in the NCPD drunk tank would definitely _not_ have earned her any brownie points with UCNC or UC Midvale.

If he had been still alive, Jeremiah would’ve have told her she was stupid as hell

“Dr. Alexandra Danvers?” a woman’s voice asked suddenly from outside the cell, Alex groaned

“Alex,” she corrected absently “I’m not exactly a candidate for a jail-house conversion”

“That’s fortunate, because I’m not a priest” the woman responded

“What are you then, my lawyer?” Alex finally looked up and…whoa. The woman standing outside the cell, dressed comfortably in a pair of dark blue jeans, a dark blue button-down blouse, and a rich-looking leather jacket, with a pair of sturdy black boots was quite possibly the most striking woman Alex had ever seen. She suddenly wanted to reach out and tangle her fingers in that long dark hair, twirl that streak of white around her fingers, see what lay behind those grey-green eyes besides the obvious intelligence, and…she must still be drunker than hell

“I’m not your lawyer, Dr. Danvers,” the woman replied, she smirked “just as you’re not much of a doctor these days”

“What do you know?” Alex scoffed

“I know that you graduated the top of your class in high school, majoring in biology,” the woman began “I know that you sailed through the bioengineering course at UCNC and earned your doctorate in less then two years, I know that you applied for an internship at S.T.A.R. Labs recently but were rejected, just like I know that Lord Technologies, Wayne Enterprises, and even LuthorCorp all turned your internship applications as well. Oh yes, I know you, Dr. Danvers”

“I also like peppermint gum” Alex spat, the woman reached into her jacket and pulled something out, throwing it onto the floor inside the cell

“Have a piece” she said, Alex blinked and stared at the pack of gum on the floor, it was even the brand she liked. She looked up at the woman

“Who are you?” she asked, the woman smirked

“At the moment I’m no one of importance,” she began “I’m here to offer you a job,” she frowned thoughtfully “no, not a job, a purpose, a path in life”

“Yeah, well,” Alex reached out with her foot and kicked the pack of gum away “thanks, but no thanks, lady. I’m fine with my life as it is”

“Is that what you tell your sister when she worries about you drinking yourself into oblivion?” the woman asked, Alex froze, it wasn’t common knowledge she and Kara were sisters “it must’ve been hard growing up,” the woman continued “knowing that you were suddenly second-best to this strange girl with strange powers,” Alex slowly looked up at her “and your father?” the woman wondered, her grey-green eyes boring into Alex, like she was looking into her very soul “do you think that he would want this for you, for you to destroy your life because he died? Your father gave his life so that you and your sister could live in peace”

“My father died in a plane crash” Alex retorted, the woman shook her sadly

“No, he didn’t,” she said “Jeremiah Danvers saved my life,” she explained, she turned and motioned to someone out in the corridor, a cop came over and quickly opened the cell without question. The woman confidently walked in, seeming to radiate a sense of power, she held herself firmly, confidently, standing tall and proud and Alex suddenly wondered if she was former military “I’m offering you a chance to do something _good_ with your life,” she said, sounding almost pleading “something worthwhile” she held out a hand, and even though it was probably a bad idea, Alex took it without hesitation

******

The resulting car ride was short, leading to a tall skyscraper only a few blocks from her apartment, the sign out front read ‘National City Biotechnology Labs’

“Where are we?” Alex wondered as the car parked around the back of the building. She watched as the entire freaking _wall_ just lifted up, revealing what looked like some kind of military bunker, if the guys and gals in black with guns were any indication

“Welcome to the Department of Extra-normal Operations, Ms. Danvers” her mysterious host began

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” Alex stropped and tried to get a hold on her sanity “you mean that all of _this_ has been here all this time, I mean with the, the glass, and the goddamn view?!”

“The DEO has several facilities around the country, Ms. Danvers,” the mystery woman explained “this is only one of them. We do have to be prepared after all”

“Prepared for _what_?” Alex demanded as she took in the scope of the place, the woman turned to her and shrugged

“Anything, everything,” she explained “we train twelve hours a day, every day, year round, preparing ourselves for any eventuality,” she smirked and held out her arms “still interested?” she asked, Alex stared at her

“Why me?” she finally asked

“Because I promised your father when he died that I’d look after his daughters,” the woman explained “and if getting you to join us here keeps you sober and out of jail then so be it” Alex found herself dimly nodding, it made sense, and frankly if she could stay near this woman’s calming presence every day then what the hell

“OK,” she said at last “sign me up,” the woman smiled then, a soft radiant smile that Alex suddenly wanted to see every second of every day “just one thing, though”

“Yes?”

“You never told me your name” the woman smirked again

“Astra,” she said “Director Astra Inzeli” she introduced herself


	3. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra have personal problems, Kara catches the plane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, welcome to chapter three of Strange Visitor, now before we began I want to assure you that I have not abandoned What we are (it is my baby after all), but this idea just grabbed onto me and Will. Not. Let. Go. HELP ME!!!!
> 
> Anyway, this story (it's a story, NOT a series, is not, is not, is not) is, of course, an AU of season one, also J'onn will be appearing here, just not as Hank Henshaw (since Astra's doing that job). Thanks go out to roryteller who wrote Small Worlds, which was actually the inspiration for Strange Visitor.
> 
> OK, here we go...

******

**The present…**

In the two years since joining the DEO Alex’s life had changed for the better, she’d cut down on her drinking, quiet partying and clubbing all together, and strengthened her relationship with Kara. Other things had changed as well, the DEO moved into a new, more secure facility dug out of a mountain in the desert a few miles outside the city as their prison complement grew, the only thing that Alex wasn’t expecting was to fall in bed with Astra. Sleeping with a coworker was bad enough, sleeping with your boss was even worse, sleeping with your boss when you worked for a top secret government organization that may have been the last line of defense against alien attacks…well that was just awful

And yet they couldn’t stop themselves, it became almost like an addiction, like they was drugged, she _needed_ Astra like she need air or water, at least it felt that way, and Astra needed her just as badly it seemed. And so Alex was content to just let things go (even though a voice in her head was screaming at her every time they did it that it was a bad idea) because, as she kept telling herself, it was just sex, very good, very spectacular sex, but ‘just sex’.

Until, one day, it wasn’t.

On that day, as Astra sat up in bed, grabbing her clothes and quickly putting them on, Alex suddenly reached out, grabbing the other woman’s arm

“Stay” she pleaded softly, barely above a whisper, and she hated how desperate she sounded, how desperate she felt, because suddenly she wanted _more_ , more than ‘no strings attached’ sex, more than seeing Astra leave her bed every night after they were through, leaving Alex alone feeling like some cheap whore. For a moment, Astra froze, stiffening as soon as Alex touched her bare arm, then she silently pulled away and finished pulling on her jeans

“You’ve got a flight to Geneva in the morning,” she said simply, her voice all business, as she finished getting dressed “get some sleep” and with that she walked out, Alex remained in the bed, waiting until she heard the front door shut before she started to get mad, mad at herself, mad at Astra. Because somewhere along the way, she’d fallen for Astra, _hard_ , hard enough that she thought she might possibly be in love with her.

But for the moment she couldn’t do anything about it, she _did_ have that flight to Geneva in the morning. Hurling a pillow at the wall, she burrowed under the covers and tried to sleep; pretending that the tears rolling down her cheeks didn’t exist.

******

Alex had thought that nothing could’ve felt worse than Astra’s rejection. She was wrong, seeing Kara catch that plane was worse, being _on_ the plane (although she’d being kidding herself if she said she wasn’t grateful to be alive) was worse, and she knew that she was possibly the only person on that plane who stared out at the figure standing on the wing that _wasn’t_ cheering. She felt bad for yelling at Kara later that night, felt bad for not thanking her sister for risking her secret to save her life, and she knew that it was partly motivated by her anger at Astra.

So when news footage of Kara as ‘supergirl’ starting popping up all over the place over the next few days, she kept her mouth shut, she didn’t say anything to Kara—she actually avoided Kara for the most part—and she ignored Astra’s repeated calls for answers as to why another super-powered alien was flying around National City, it was petty and possibly dangerous she knew, but she couldn’t help herself, and besides she still obeyed orders, still did her job to the best of her ability and beyond, and if Astra suddenly knew what it felt like to be rejected, knew what it felt like to not be in control, well then that was just gravy. In the end, however, all it did was force poor Vasquez to play referee, relaying orders and information back and forth between the two of them, and if Vasquez knew that she was sleeping with the boss she didn’t let on.

But she couldn’t keep her mouth shut any longer when Vasquez suddenly cornered her outside the cafeteria about a week after the plane crash and told her that Astra—no, ‘Director Inzeli’—had ordered a strike team to find and apprehend Kara.

Practically kicking in the door to Astra’s office felt _good_ , much better then it should have considering that a stunt like that could have easily landed her in a cell

“Agent Danvers, won’t you come in?” Astra greeted calmly from behind her desk, barely looking up as she continued typing away on her laptop, looking completely unsurprised at Alex’s actions, and that just made Alex madder, because damn it she wanted this woman to _react_ , to show some fucking emotion

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Alex snarled

“I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific” Astra calmly responded

“My sister,” Alex snarled “you ordered a strike team to apprehend her” she snarled

“Yes, I did”

“Why?” Alex wanted to know “she’s not a threat; she’s not a Fort Rozz escapee, so what? Huh? This is payback for what I said last week? You didn’t like it so now you’re going after my sister to get back at me?” she regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, one thing she had learned very early on about Astra was that the other woman was a consummate professional, she would _never_ let any personal problems interfere with her work, unlike Alex apparently who just had to open her big fat mouth.

Astra suddenly stopped typing and slowly looked up, and Alex felt a chill go down her spine at the sudden hardness in Astra’s eyes

“I’m going to pretend that you didn’t say that,” she began, her voice cold and hard “and need I remind you, _Agent_ Danvers, of the fact that while your sister may not be a threat, there other aliens out there who are? Need I remind you that half of the prisoners in Fort Rozz were sentenced by your sister’s _mother_? Not to mention the countless _human_ criminals who would like nothing more than to try and kill anyone wearing that S?” Alex swallowed, suddenly feeling like the most petty and selfish person on the face of the planet, here she was thinking only about herself and her stupid love life of all things when her sister’s life could be in danger

“No, ma’am” she finally squeaked out, Astra slowly nodded

“Now _are_ you or are you _not_ a member of this organization?”

“You’re right,” Alex admitted, feeling about two inches tall “I’m sorry, Director, it…won’t happen again” Astra nodded slowly

“Now go suit up,” she ordered “we move in five” Alex nodded stiffly

“Yes ma’am”

******

As they rode back to the DEO fifteen minutes later, an unconscious Kara with them, Alex took some small comfort in the fact that, one, they had only used tranquilizer darts, and two, that the op went off without a hitch, someone’s dart had found its mark and Kara went out like a light. Kara remained in stable condition all through the ride back, and Alex knew that when she woke up she wouldn’t even had a headache, but that wasn’t what worried her, what worried her the most was how Kara would react to waking in the DEO—probably strapped to a table—and how she would feel once she saw Alex there

******

As it turned out, Alex had one more thing to worry about when they got back to DEO, Astra was unavailable and had ordered _Vasquez_ of all people to give Kara the introduction once she work. Alex only listened with half an ear as Vasquez gave Kara the speech, explaining where she was and who they were, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach when Vasquez—who must’ve taken drama classes because she had just the right amount of _menace_ in her voice—suddenly said

“I believe you know Agent Danvers” Kara sat up, straining against the kryptonite cuffs, and then pulled away when Alex unlocked them


	4. More Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter four of Strange Visitor (sighs) it just will _not_ let me go. But don't worry fans of What we are, the rest of Part Five is coming

******

“As near as we can figure, when your pod escaped the Phantom Zone it pulled Fort Rozz out with it,” Alex explained, she wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying, she was more focused on the hurt expression on Kara’s face as she explained about the various criminals who had escaped from Fort Rozz when it crashed, about how they hid and disappeared into society, but were now were starting to come out of hiding, how they were planning something, something big, and about how most of them had been sentenced by Kara’s mother

“They blame you,” she explained “they want revenge, and since they can’t get it from your mother, they’ll try to kill you instead”

“Your plane,” Kara said softly “that wasn’t an accident, was it?” Alex shook her head “I can help you” Kara pleaded, and Alex wanted nothing more than to say ‘yes’

“How?” she asked instead “you couldn’t even stop us from capturing you, hell you didn’t even _notice_ us”

“I’m still learning!” Kara snarled, Alex nodded slowly

“I know,” she said softly and she wished she could give Kara her blessing on this, but she couldn’t, not this time “and even if you did help us, our job is to keep people in the dark about how many aliens are actually here on Earth, and we can’t do that if one our agents is a flying woman in a bright red skirt and cape”

“They know about my cousin,” Kara argued “he was here for half a dozen years before me and no one’s afraid of him”

“Actually a lot of people are,” Alex admitted “it’s just not very popular to admit it, our last Director apparently even used to go on tirades about ‘that alien menace in Metropolis’,” she explained, and it was true she knew, and maybe if she had told Kara about it, about how, for every hundred people who all said that they loved Superman, at least half of them secretly feared him, or at the very least were uneasy about him, it might have changed things, it might have made Kara resist the limelight, at least for awhile anyway, after her first act of heroism, and she also know that Kara was hurt and mad right now, mad at Alex for keeping such a big secret from her, for constantly telling her to stay hidden, out of danger, when she herself threw herself into danger headfirst almost every day “look, I know you’re hurt,” she began “and mad, but you have to believe me, I wanted to tell you every single day”

“But you _didn’t_ ,” Kara hissed as she whirled around to face her “instead you told me every day not to be who I really am,” she said pointedly “and I can’t help feeling like this is all one big coincidence, you working here, hunting down aliens, me being one, I can’t help but think that you were recruited because of me”

“I was recruited,” Alex began “because my background in bioengineering makes me the perfect person to understand alien physiology, an expert even,” she explained “and yeah,” she added, unable to keep the slight sneer out of her voice “it helps that I shared a bathroom with one” she knew that Kara was just angry, but that? Having Kara unintentionally open all those old wounds about suddenly being what Astra had described as ‘second best’ all that time ago, hearing that her work with the DEO, the thing that had kept her from self-destructing, was only possible because of Kara, that _Astra_ had only recruited her because of Kara, that stung

“I’m leaving,” Kara snarled, unaware of Alex’s internal dilemma “now,” she added “unless you want to stop me. Which I wouldn’t” with that she spun around and stalked out of the room. Alex sighed, looking over at Vasquez who gave her a sympathetic smile

“Agent Danvers, Agent Vasquez,” Alex looked up to Astra came over, she frowned and gave Alex and Vasquez the once over “I take it that things didn’t go precisely according to plan?” she asked

“With all due respect, ma’am,” Vasquez spoke up “she _does_ just want to help people”

“She wants to help?” Astra demanded sarcastically “fine. She can start by going back to getting someone’s coffee” 

“Of course, Director” Vasquez wisely nodded and quickly went back to her post, lest Astra tear into her

“I _hate_ that you made me do that” Alex snarled once they were more or less alone

“I know,” Astra said softly “and I know that you don’t want to hear this, but she _is_ dangerous, maybe not purposefully, but she’s…reckless, impulsive”

“Astra,” Alex said softly “I have to ask…was I recruited because of my…connection to her? Was I recruited because of my sister?”

“No” Astra answered simply, Alex nodded, in all the time she’d known her Astra had never lied to her

“Then…,” she sighed “you do know that Kara does just want to help, right?”

“I do,” Astra nodded “but when I promised Jeremiah Danvers that I would look after his daughters, I wasn’t only talking about you” Alex ran her fingers through her hair, she suddenly felt drained, tired

“Can we…talk?” she asked quietly “about… _this_?” she gestured between the two of them, Astra frowned

“Not tonight,” she said softly “but maybe tomorrow,” Alex nodded, she’d take what she could get “also,” Astra added “you should talk to your, sister,” and there it was again, every time Astra mentioned Kara, referred to her as Alex’s ‘sister’, there was always a hitch in her voice, like the word held deeper connotations for her, maybe it did, she didn’t really know much about Astra Inzeli, most of the records from her time in the Army were still highly classified, redacted to the point of uselessness, way beyond Alex’s pay grade or clearance “you should go home,” Astra said suddenly “get some sleep, that’s an order” Alex chuckled at the light teasing tone in Astra’s voice

“Yes, ma’am”


	5. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex finds out who Astra really is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, once more unto the breach dear readers

******

Over the next two days or so, Kara avoided Alex, she ignored her calls, ignored her texts, and Alex wasn’t quite ready to go knocking on her door just yet, she also hadn’t had time to talk to Astra yet either, or maybe Astra hadn’t had time to talk to her, she wasn’t really sure. But either way it had been about two or three days since they had brought Kara in, she was elbow-deep in the guts of Kara’s pod when Vasquez tapped her on the shoulder, startling her

“Goddamn it! Susan! Don’t… _do_ that!”

“Sorry, ma’am,” Vasquez apologized “but the Director wanted to know what you were doing”

“Oh,” Alex pulled herself out of the cramped space and held up the Kryptonian device. It was black, hexagonal in shape, about the size of a shoebox “it’s some kind of data storage device” she explained, Vasquez nodded

“Like a CD?” Alex shrugged

“I think, at least from what the inscriptions say anyway, that it’s more like a flash drive” Vasquez nodded again, looking interested

“Huh, cool,” she said “do you know what’s in it?” she asked, Alex sighed

“Well that’s the thing, no, I’ve been thinking that maybe it was damaged during the trip from Krypton or maybe that it’s missing a piece, like a key,” she nodded to the pod “hence…this” she explained, Vasquez nodded, still staring at the device

“You mind if I…?” she held out her hand, Alex nodded

“Sure, go ahead” Vasquez took the box and turned it over in her hands, finally frowning at the middle, she gently reached out and touched one of the symbols, there was a quiet _click_ , and the pieces suddenly started to move, sliding back and forth like a puzzle box befor finally settling into position

“Hey, I think you got it,” Alex exclaimed “how’d you do that?” she asked, Vasquez shrugged

“I don’t know, I guessed,” she muttered “well,” she said “I’ll let the Director know that’s all you were doing”

“Thanks” Alex muttered distractedly as Vasquez walked away. She frowned at the box, staring at one symbol in particular, one that looked like the all-too familiar S, quietly nodding to herself Alex took the box into one of the isolation labs, one because whatever was in there was probably meant for Kara, and two, if the thing blew up in her face it shouldn’t take anyone else with it. Still frowning at it, she moved that S-symbol up, there was another quiet click and the ‘top’ of the box started to glow, projecting a hologram of a woman, for a moment Alex was half-expecting to hear ‘help me Obi–wan’, but instead she got a shock.

The hologram was an exact mirror image of Astra, minus the streak of white in her hair, and as she watched the message play, all the pieces to the puzzle suddenly fell into place, the fact that no real records of an ‘Astra Inzeli’ appeared anywhere until about ten years ago, right around the time she became director of the DEO, the ‘classified’ military record (not ‘classified’ she realized, not ‘redacted’ but ‘nonexistent’), and most glaringly her suddenly being ‘unavailable’ when they had brought in Kara.

As the message ended, only one thought occupied Alex’s mind, she needed to talk to Astra

Now


	6. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex confronts Astra and learns about her father's death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicaded to Pesterfield, who wanted to know what Astra was doing for the past eight years and why she just didn't go to the Danvers straight away

******

“Astra! Open the goddamn the door!!” Alex had pounded her fist on the apartment door hard enough she wondered if she’d actually broken her hand. Finally after three more ‘knocks’ the door flew open and an irate Astra appeared 

“Do you have idea what time it is?!” she demanded, Alex ignored the demand and instead shoved past her inside “of course, please come inside,” Astra muttered sarcastically as she closed the door “do you mind telling me what is so important that it couldn’t wait until morning?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest and scowling at Alex, and despite her anger Alex was momentary distracted by the interior of the apartment. 

She’d never been to Astra’s apartment, all of their ‘encounters’ had happened at her place, and as she looked around the place she was stunned by the lack of…well, _anything_ , there were no pictures on the walls, very little furniture aside from the pullout couch in the middle of room and the TV sitting on a small table. It looked less like an apartment and more like place to sleep and eat, somewhere where a person with no personal ties or connections would live, and she suddenly felt sad being here, it was, well, depressing seeing this place, this room, there was no warmth, nothing cozy, this wasn’t a ‘home’, just a place to live

“If you’re through with the inspection?” Astra’s voice brought her back to reality, along with her anger. She whirled around to face Astra

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded

“Tell you _what_?” Astra demanded, pinching at the bridge of her nose in clear frustration

“That you’re Kara’s mother” for a moment Astra just stared at her 

“And _what_ exactly gave you that...comic book delusion?” she finally asked

“I saw a hologram of you,” Alex explained “the one you left in Kara’s pod” Astra nodded slowly, as if coming to a decision

“Twins were rare on Krypton,” she began “identical twins even rarer, even our parents got us confused at times” Alex stared at her

“You’re…Kara’s aunt?” she realized, Astra nodded quietly “how did you…?” she trailed off

“Survive?” Astra asked, Alex nodded “I wasn’t on Krypton when it perished,” she explained “I was actually aboard Fort Rozz”

“Fort Rozz?” Alex echoed, all of the guards had been killed when Fort Rozz crashed, which meant that… “you were a…prisoner?”

“Yes” Astra answered, her tone unapologetic, at some point Alex had collapsed down onto the couch, and now she stared up at Astra

“Why?” she finally asked, Astra sighed

“It’s difficult to explain,” she began, awkwardly joining Alex on the couch “but put simply, I was the one who discovered that Krypton’s core was unstable, we’d striped the planet of almost every resource and were now eagerly and recklessly over-mining the core, our politicians—bloated, decrepit, narrow-minded old fools—argued but couldn’t agree on a solution, I…tried to warn people, to make them see, but I was merely shouted down as a doomsayer. So, I gathered a few followers who believed me and became something of an anarchist,” she chuckled “actually I was the _leading_ anarchist. In time I created a…solution of my own, a flawed one, but a solution nonetheless, but in order to use it I needed to use…drastic measures, I failed and was arrested, and sentenced to lifetime imprisonment in Fort Rozz by Alura Zor-El. My sister” as Astra finished her explanation Alex sat there, stunned

“Did you kill my father?” she finally asked

“Now, you stop right there,” Astra snarled, suddenly turning to face her “I am many things, a former prisoner among them, but I am _not_ the enemy here. Your father believed in me, if it weren’t for his sacrifice, I’d be dead and your sister--my niece--would be laying on some dissection table by now,” Alex opened her mouth to speak, shout, scream at Astra, but Astra held up a hand “when Fort Rozz crashed here on earth, the prison erupted into chaos, even my own former followers were suddenly torn between their loyalty to me and their loyalty to my lieutenant, they staged a coup and tried to assassinate me”

“You escaped” Alex reasoned, Astra nodded

“And ended up in the Pacific Northwest, where I met your father,” she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees “the DEO had been hunting down the escapees for months, I was next on their hit list, Superman stepped in, he apparently had heard about me from the archives his father left with him and realized that I wasn’t a threat, and tried to dissuade the director at the time, a sadistic butcher named ‘Hank Henshaw’, but unfortunately Kal-El’s pleas for mercy only inflamed Henshaw further, because now he knew that his latest target was a Kryptonian, and unlike Kal-El no one would object to his killing this one, or worse capturing me for study” Alex shivered, suddenly imaging Astra shackled to a table, a group of sadistic doctors in hazmat suits calmly picking her apart— _vivisecting_ her—trying unlock how her powers worked

“My father was part of that mission, wasn’t he?” she asked, Astra nodded

“As near as I can piece together," she began "Hank Henshaw came to your family and tried to take Kara from you, tried to turn her into an ‘asset’,” her mouth twisted in clear disgust at the word “but your father offered him a compromise, he’d willing work for the DEO, offer up any information he had on Superman in exchange for Kara being left alone,” she sighed “when the DEO finally tracked me down near the Canadian border Jeremiah got separated from the rest of his team, he nearly fell into a ravine stumbling around in the dark”

“But you saved him” Alex realized, Astra nodded as she reached behind her, grabbing her jacket off the back of the couch

“He told me he wasn’t going to kill me, tried to comfort me when I mentioned that my home was gone,” she pulled out a worn photograph and held it out to Alex “he showed me this, told me about his daughter Kara”

“You recognized her”

“Yes,” Astra took a shuddering breath “he offered to reunite me with Kara, but…Henshaw ambushed us, he was…obsessed, determine to add another trophy to his collection, your father tried to stop him from killing me, and actually succeeded in killing Henshaw, but lost his own life in the process,” she suddenly gave Alex a sad smile “his last thoughts were for you and Kara, his last request that I take care of you both” she sighed, sagging against the couch

“I don’t understand,” Alex spoke at last “if that’s true then why didn’t you…just take Kara yourself once you found out she was still alive? Why hide out for eight years? Why take over the DEO for that matter?”

“I was originally planning on doing just that,” Astra began “but as I watched you and her and learned more about how Henshaw blackmailed Jeremiah into working for him I realized that I would be no better than him if I just…showed up on your doorstep demanding my niece back, and if I did that, then Jeremiah’s death would have been all for nothing. As for taking over the DEO, that was actually Kal-El’s suggestion, who better at stopping alien attacks than an actual alien? And in the wake of Henshaw’s death at the hands of ‘some vicious murderous alien’, the government was desperately trying to find someone replace him. So I faked credentials, my own background as a general in Krypton’s Military Guild helped considerably, and managed to get myself appointed as Director of the DEO with a little help from Kal-El who persuaded various officials that ‘U.S. Army Captain Astra Inzeli’ would be perfect for the job. Within a year I had removed all of those who were loyal to Henshaw and by the time I found you in that jail cell no one questioned me”

“And sleeping with me?” Alex asked “how does that fit in?” Astra sighed

“I don’t know,” she admitted “as I told you the first time it happened, it was a mistake, but…” she trailed off, Alex chuckled, a slightly hysterical sound

“You know what the really fucked up part is?” she asked “I think I’m falling for you, really truly falling for you” Astra looked at her sharply

“If Kara’s your sister and I’m her aunt, then what does that make us?” she asked

“Nothing” Alex spat, Astra sighed 

"Don't let your hatred for me blind you" she warned, as Alex got up and headed to the door 

“I’ll…see you tomorrow” she muttered

“Alex, wait” and Alex hated at how _small_ Astra suddenly sounded

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe” she muttered, and she meant it, she was mad, furious at the betrayal, but she wasn’t spiteful or stupid, exposing Astra could only end badly for everyone

“No, that’s not it,” Astra pleaded “please, we need to talk about… _this_ ” Alex stopped in the doorway, she wanted to talk, she wanted to _touch_ Astra, to hold her, kiss her. But she couldn’t, not right now

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Director” she muttered, she wished she’d opened the door sooner, wished she’d left before Astra spoke, because the next words out of Astra’s mouth would be burned in her mind forever

“I love you” Astra called out after her as the door shut behind her, and Alex hated how _broken_ she had sounded


	7. Hostilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra have a talk, Vartox appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!!

******

When she came in to work the next day, Alex saw that Astra was once again the consummate professional, no traces of her broken confession the night before. That should have made Alex feel relieved, but it didn’t, it just made it hurt even worse, twisted the knife in her chest even deeper, she could still hear the broken sound in Astra’s words, as if her entire soul had been held in those three little words and Alex felt like she had crushed that soul by closing the door and walking away.

She’d always imagined that hearing those words from someone other than Kara would make her feel happy, elated, not depressed and guilt-ridden, because she should be mad, she should be furious, Astra had lied about who she was, about _what_ she was, had used her like her own personal fuck toy, Alex should have been mad enough to the point of considering homicide. But she found she couldn’t stay mad, because she didn’t care, she didn’t care that Astra was an alien, or that she was actually Kara’s aunt, because none of that mattered, what mattered was that despite all of that, Astra had willingly offered up her heart, and Alex had crushed it like a grape.

Finally she couldn’t bear it anymore. Knocking on the office door, Alex slowly walked inside

“Agent Danvers” Astra greeted casually

“Can we talk?” Alex asked quietly “about last night?”

“What’s there to talk about?” Astra asked “I thought that you made your opinions perfectly clear” and looking at her now Alex could _see_ the waves of anguish and pain radiating off the other woman, Astra was just as upset as she was, the only difference was that Astra could hide it better. Alex took a breath

“Did you mean it?” she asked softly, suddenly finding her shoes _so_ fascinating. For a long, agonizing moment Astra was silent

“Yes,” she finally whispered “not that it matters”

“It does to me” Alex said

“Why?” Astra wondered, turning to face her “I lied about who I am, what I am, I abused our friendship for the sake of my own libido, possibly jeopardized our working relationship, and--”

“I don’t care about that,” Alex interrupted, she took a breath “I don’t care that you lied, I don’t even care that you’re actually Kara’s aunt, all I care about is _you_ , and I’m sorry, I’m sorry I acted the way I did”

“Why?” Astra asked softly “why should _you_ be sorry?”

“Because I’m in love with you,” Alex whispered, “I’m desperately, helplessly, in love with you”

“You shouldn’t be,” Astra muttered with a shake of her head “my relation to Kara notwithstanding, I’m still a criminal, an escaped prisoner from Fort Rozz, an alien who lied, who took control of a government agency, _the_ government agency tasked with protecting this world from alien attacks. By all rights you should have either put me in a cell or killed me”

“I still don’t care,” Alex said with a shake of her head “I asked you to stay that night because I love you, and I want _more_ ”

“I know,” Astra said softly “so do I”

“So…what do we do now?” Alex wondered

“I don’t know” Astra admitted, a knock on the door interrupted them. Vasquez poked her head in

“Sorry to interrupt, Agent Danvers,” she nodded politely at Alex “Director Inzeli, ma’am, radar just picked up a boogie traveling at high-speed across the city”

“Alien?” Astra asked, all business now

“Unknown ma’am, it just landed at the power plant” Vasquez explained, Astra nodded

“Assemble a strike team,” she ordered “inform them that Agent Danvers and I will take command” Vasquez nodded

“Yes, ma’am” as soon as she left, Alex turned to Astra

“If Kara’s there…” she began

“Then it’ll be one less secret for you to keep” Astra said simply, Alex nodded, trusting Astra’s judgment

******

As they both suited up and met the strike team in the hall, Vasquez watched them go, nodding in satisfaction at the fact that the two women were finally talking, her eyes briefly glowing an unearthly red


	8. Wounded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara gets a shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I _WILL_ update Part Five of What we are, I swear!!

******

As the chopper approached the power plant Alex felt her blood go cold. Her mind analyzed the situation: one hostile on the ground, armed, extent of other abilities or powers unknown, Kara was there too, pinned to the ground by the alien, clearly weakened and unable to defend herself. Alex stomped down the urge to vomit, since joining the DEO she’d watched every piece of footage from Superman’s battles with the various aliens that came to Earth as well as the human criminals like Reactron who had advanced technology at their disposal. She had watched the footage to try to find weak spots, see how a fully-powered Kryptonian could be subdued or even killed as well as studying the strengths and weaknesses of the aliens who fought him. But she had always, always wondered in the back of her mind, what if it was Kara in that situation, what if it was Kara who was down on the ground, being pummeled into the pavement by some alien thug, or blasted by a nuclear fireball?

Now she didn’t have to wonder, because it was all happening in full living color

“Pilot,” Astra’s voice brought her back to reality, she watched as Astra absently straightened her (completely unnecessary Alex now knew) tac gear and turned to the pilot “do you have a weapons lock?” she asked

“Yes ma’am, but…”

“Supergirl won’t be harmed by this,” Astra assured him “fire” she ordered. The resulting missile had the desired effect, the alien bolted, leaping about thirty feet in the air. Alex repelled down from the chopper, dropping down next to Kara. She yanked off her helmet and crouched down next to Kara

“Hey, hey, it’s OK, I got you” she soothed as she gathered Kara up in her arms even as Astra repelled down after her

“Trap One, this is Greyhound leader, pursue hostile” Astra ordered

 _”Copy that”_ and as the chopper veered off in pursuit of the alien, Alex tried to ignore the fact that Kara was staring at Astra with wide disbelieving eyes

******

Kara winced as Alex gently removed the shard of metal from her arm, the wound closing instantly, and Alex let out a breath she didn’t realized she’d been holding

“You’ll be all right” she assured Kara as she put the shard into a test tube

“I’ve never felt pain like that” Kara said, rubbing at her arm

“You’re not indestructible,” Alex reminded her “that’s why I didn’t want you out there, why I didn’t want _that_ ,” she pointed to the symbol on Kara’s chest “…out there. Why _she_ didn’t want that out there”

“Did you know?” Kara asked as Alex put the test tube into the spectrometer “did you know who she was?”

“Not until last night,” Alex answered, keeping her back to Kara as she fiddled with spectrometer, more as an excuse not to turn around than anything else “there was…a picture of your mom in you pod,” she explained vaguely “I thought she _was_ Alura for a while actually,” she admitted, she dared to finally turn around and look at Kara “I…can’t even begin to imagine what you’re going through right now” she sighed

“All this time, I thought she was dead,” Kara began “then I find out that she’s alive, that you know her, you _work_ for her,” she shook her head as she stared off into space “I remember I used to sit on her lap for _hours_ while she taught me about the stars, told me about all the places she’d been to,” she looked up at Alex “how did she survive?” Alex bit her lip

“She…wasn’t on Krypton when it died” she finally answered

“Agent Danvers, report” Astra walked in, her tone and body language all business, Alex flashed Kara a look that she hoped read ‘she has to do this to keep herself safe’ and then turned to Astra

“She’ll be all right; I’m running an analysis on the metal of the ax. If we can find out how it works we should be able to find a way to defeat him” she explained

“Good to hear,” Astra nodded, she glanced over at Kara “you did a nice job there of nearly getting cut in half. Great work” she said sarcastically, and Alex knew she was masking her concern for Kara, but still, it stung, because it was the last thing that Kara wanted, or needed, to hear from the aunt she thought had been dead for twenty-four years

“Aunt Astra…” Kara reached out for her

“Don’t,” Astra said sharply, she shook her head “not here,” she said quietly, the spectrometer beeped suddenly, the results scrolling past “there,” Astra said, back to ‘Director Inzeli’ again “you did help” she plucked the test tube off the spectrometer and walked out

“You were right,” Kara finally sighed as she got off the exam table “the world doesn’t need me,” she looked like she was struggling not to cry and Alex wanted to do nothing more than hug her but she didn’t know if she’d be wanted “even she doesn’t want me” Kara whispered

“Kara—” Alex tried, but Kara had already walked out.

Out of the room, out of the DEO, and, possibly, out of Alex’s life.


	9. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex gives Kara the encouragement she needs and Astra and Alex take the first step towards something more

******

“I’m not discussing this, Alex,” Astra snarled “if Vartox knows who she is, then so do the others. I’m _not_ going to let my niece get killed by some Fort Rozz escapee with a revenge fantasy against my sister, _or_ by some human thug with a grudge against Superman”

“I’m not asking you to,” Alex insisted, grateful that they were behind closed doors; the last they needed was the rest of the DEO listening in on _this_ conversation “but she _needs_ this, she needs a purpose, ‘a path in life’, isn’t that what you called it? When you recruited me?”

“Throwing my own words back at me will not make me change my mind,” Astra insisted “she is _not_ endangering herself, not while I’m in command of the DEO, and not while I’m still breathing!”

“She’s not a little girl anymore!” Alex snarled, she watched as Astra clenched her jaw but said nothing “because that’s what this is really about isn’t?” she asked “this is about you thinking that you failed to protect her, to protect your ‘little one’. Go on, tell me I’m wrong,” she sighed “look,” she began “I don’t want her out there anymore than you do, but she needs this and we need her help, since if you tried you’d probably end up getting _shot_ as a traitor”

“If I was lucky,” Astra muttered, she sighed “it’s not that I don’t believe she can do it, I do, with all my heart, but…believing and _wanting_ at two very different things,” she absently rubbed at her forehead “all right, go and talk to her” she said, Alex nodded and frowned

“Do you want to come with me?” she asked

“I highly doubt that she’d want to see me”

“You don’t know that,” Alex countered “all she wants is her favorite aunt back” Astra shook her head stiffly

“I’m sorry,” she said “but…not now, maybe once this threat is stopped”

“All right” Alex agreed quietly, impulsively she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Astra’s lips, it was soft, sweet, almost chaste compared to their pervious kisses which had all been simply a prelude to sex, and instantly left them both wanting more

“You should go.” Astra whispered against her lips “time’s running out” Alex nodded shakily, suddenly wanting nothing more than to just stay here in Astra’s arms for a good century or two

“Yeah” she mumbled, Astra suddenly reached out and cupped her cheek

“You’re so much braver than me,” she whispered, she smiled shyly and pulled away “go” she said, and it felt less like an order and more like encouragement, Alex found herself grinning as she turned to walk out

“When this is over,” she began, pausing in the doorway “you’re taking me out to dinner” Astra chuckled

“How about I make you dinner instead?” she suggested, Alex blinked

“You cook?” she asked, Astra nodded

“Yes, I cook, quite well I’m told,” she nodded towards the door “now don’t you have somewhere to be?” Alex grinned

“Yes, General” she teased

******

“Kara it’s me, open up,” Alex knocked a little harder “I _know_ you can see me,” she called out “all right, fine, don’t answer, just listen,” she took a breath “the reason I didn’t tell you about what I do, about any of it was because…because I always felt like second best to you. I mean you could _anything_ and I’m just plain old me,” she leaned her forehead against the door “so when I told you to stay hidden, to hide, it…I don’t know, making you feel like…less made me feel better about myself, as petty and selfish as that sounds,” she heard a shuffling sound from inside and kept talking “the same with my job,” she continued “knowing that I was doing something that you _couldn’t_ or weren't made me feel…super. But I’m not the only one whose super, you are too, and right now the world needs you, _I_ need you, _Astra_ needs you” the door finally opened

“I can’t do it, Alex” Kara said, she looked tired, like she’d been crying for a few hours

“Yes you can,” Alex insisted “you just need a little encouragement” she held up the box and watched as Kara’s eyes widened

“That’s Kryptonese” she exclaimed, Alex nodded

“The old team recovered it along with your pod,” she explained “it’s a message from your mother” she watched as Kara looked like she was about to start crying and Alex knew that this had been the right decision, as much as she hated the thought of Kara being out there as a literal flying target she knew that Kara _needed_ to be out there, something inherent in her DNA compelled her to go out and help people, just like Clark, like Astra even, and while Astra would probably never put on a cape and a stupid skirt, she too had that same instinct to help, to protect.

And as the message played, as Alura’s ghost gave Kara the encouragement she needed, Alex knew that things would be different now, for one thing Kara may have gotten over her initial anger about her lying but she would never truly forgive Alex for the betrayal, not for a long while at least, and Alex realized that she was fine with that, because now at least she had Kara by her side

As her sister.

Just as it should be

******

“Now remember,” Alex warned as she and Kara walked into the DEO “as far as everyone is concerned Astra is just another human, so she’ll probably be insulting and mean, just play along” Kara nodded as they entered Command

“Agent Danvers,” Astra greeted “well, now what’s your sister from another planet doing here?” to her right Kara flashed Alex and quickly mouthed ‘wow’, and Alex had to agree. Astra’s own disguise, as Director Astra Inzeli, could give Clark’s mild-mannered reporter gig a run for its money. She held herself contemptuously, practically looking down her nose at Kara, like she was a vaguely interesting bug, even though Alex could see the hope and love her eyes

“She’s here to help us fight Vartox” Alex said, playing along

“I’ve told you before, I don’t trust aliens” Astra told her, and Alex almost laughed at the irony of _that_ statement, of course she reminded herself the best defense is a good offense, what better cover story for an alien then disguising yourself as a person who hated aliens?

“There’s no one I trust more than Supergirl,” she countered, keeping up the act for all the other agents milling around (although she was pretty certain that Vasquez knew about Astra, she _was_ practically Astra’s aide de camp after all, at the very least she knew about the fact that they were sleeping together) “like her cousin she was sent here to help us. And if you want anymore of my help you’re going to let her” the threat was totally unnecessary she knew, but it helped sell the story

“I found Vartox!” Vasquez suddenly called out, she turned to face the trio “uh, Director, ma’ams”

“How can you be sure?” Astra asked as Vasquez turned back to the monitors

“The shard of metal that Agent Danvers extracted from Supergirl’s arm,” Vasquez explained “Vartox’s axe has a unique nuclear thumbprint,” she pulled up a satellite image of a stretch of highway “satellite tracking just picked him up heading into the city"

“Vartox said he was ready to start killing Humans” Kara explained

“Order a strike team to intercept” Astra ordered

“Your men won’t be able to stop him!” Kara argued, and Alex could see that she wasn’t completely playing along anymore and neither was Astra, now Astra’s own fears and worries for Kara were staring to come into play

“Your opinion has been noted Ms. Danvers”

“Director Inzeli,” Kara moved closer until she was practically nose-to-nose with Astra “Vartox is doing this because of something I did,” she explained “I started this. You _have_ to let me stop it” Alex watched as aunt and niece stared each other down, she sent a silent prayer to whatever god that happened to be listening that Astra wouldn’t do something stupid. Finally Astra nodded

“Make sure you win” she ordered


	10. Protector

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara fights Vartox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey two updates in one day, both here and Part Five of What we are

******

Alex watched the feed from the drone flying next Kara with what could be politely described as ‘trepidation’ and what could bluntly be called ‘sheer panic’. To her right Astra gave off an air of indifference, even though Alex knew that the other woman was just nervous as she was

“Do you have eyes on the target?” Astra asked into the mic, her tone all business

“ _I got him!_ ” Kara snarled over the comm., on the screen Alex saw her simply drop down in front of the truck, letting it hit her at full speed. Beside her, Astra snarled in frustration and slapped a hand on the console

“Reckless!” she hissed, Alex dimly nodded in quiet agreement as she watched Vartox and Kara start to beat the shit out of each other, cringing at the image of Vartox clearly pummeling Kara into the ground at one point.

Astra turned to glare at her “she’s not strong enough” she snarled, and Alex knew that if something happened to Kara, Astra would never her forgive her, just like she would never forgive herself

“Why? Because she’s a ‘girl’?” she asked, she grinned at Astra “that’s just what we were counting on,” she reminded her, she nodded to the screen “I analyzed the metal from Vartox’s axe, it’s powered by a self-generating atomic charge capable of reaching temperatures of up to two thousand degrees Fahrenheit” she explained

“How does that help us?” Astra wondered

“If it gets any hotter than that, the axe will explode,” Alex explained “all she has to do is get close enough to do her thing” on the screen Vartox had Kara pinned, the axe held high above her head

_”Give your mother my regards!”_ he snarled

“Kara! Do it now!” Alex hollered into the mic, watching through the drone’s night vision camera as Kara fired off a blast of heat vision at the axehead “come on” Alex muttered

_“I can’t do it!”_ Kara sobbed over the comm., her voice strained

“Yes you can!” Alex insisted “your mother sent you here to protect us; I believe that and so do you”

_“I can’t!”_ Kara sobbed, Astra suddenly leaned forward towards the mic

“Kara! _Finish him!!_ ” she bellowed, which seemed to be the encouragement Kara needed because there was a sudden scream over the comm. and the axe suddenly exploded

“She did it” Alex sighed even as the room erupted into cheers, beside her Astra let out another snarl of frustration

“This time” she muttered


	11. Fairy Tales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra have dinner and talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Chapter Eleven of Strange Visitor, my second update in a single day (I also updated Part Five of What we are and am trying to update Family Matters), anyway, thanks to everyone for keeping with this odd idea that is Strange Visitor
> 
> And now, on the with show...er...fic

******

“Do you eat meat?” Alex blinked at the question and tried to figure out what exactly had happened, there had been a knock at her door, she had opened the door to find Astra on the other side holding a grocery bag and asking it she ate meat

“Uh, yeah,” she finally got out “I eat meat; I’m a big carnivore, personally. Why?” Astra held up the bag

“I believe I promised to cook you dinner?” the Kryptonian frowned “unless you’d rather reschedule?” she offered

“No!” Alex winced at the desperate tone in her voice “I mean, no, please, come on in.” she tried instead; Astra gave her a knowing smirk as she walked in “what are we having?” Alex asked as she closed the door

“Steak and baked potatoes” Astra answered, unpacking the bag and busying herself in the kitchen

“You’re a mind-reader” Alex exclaimed

“If only,” Astra snorted “if I was a mind-reader then I could find out who keeps raiding the refrigerator in the break room and stealing my lunch” Alex sheepishly held up a hand

“Uh, guilty” she admitted, Astra sighed as she pulled a skillet out of the cabinet

“Why don’t you just bring your _own_ food?” she muttered

“Your food tastes better,” Alex muttered with a shrug, looking completely unapologetic “OK, look, I’ll make it up to you, I can’t cook, but I can contribute in some way”

“All right,” Astra agreed, she held out two large potatoes “you can wash these” she instructed, Alex grinned

“Deal”

******

Diner was quiet, but comfortable; Alex found she was just enjoying being Astra, away from the DEO, away from the threat of alien attacks, nothing else but just the two of them

“You looked like you enjoyed my cooking” Astra commented as she put their plates in the sink to soak

“You’re a really good cook” Alex agreed, Astra ducked her head bashfully

“Thank you” she said, Alex grinned

“So, what’s for desert?” she wondered, Astra smiled and held out a hand

“Come with me?” she requested softly, Alex found herself taking Astra’s hand without hesitation, just like she did two years ago in that jail cell. Astra led her over to the window, opening it and stepping out onto the fire escape. She turned back to Alex as she climbed out and joined Astra on the fire escape, watching as Astra floated up off the ground a few feet “do you trust me not to drop you?” she asked, Alex merely tightened her grip on Astra’s hand, Astra nodded softly and pulled her close, wrapping her in a firm embrace, gently rising until they were floating hundreds of feet above the city, the thousands twinkling lights spread out below them like jewels

“It’s beautiful” Alex breathed, Astra nodded quietly

“There’s an old story,” she began softly “a love story, like a fairy tale, I don’t remember where it’s from, maybe here, maybe Krypton, but anyway, in this story a princess falls helplessly in love with a peasant girl, she showers the girl with gifts, rare jewels, fine clothing, sparing no expense, but the peasant girl doesn’t seem to return the princess’ affections, for she returns each gift without a word of explanation, the princess can’t understand why her beloved would be so cruel. Finally, unable to take the rejection any longer, she tracks down the peasant girl to her simple hut in the forest and demands why the girl can’t return her affections ‘why can’t you love me?’ she cries, the peasant girl replies ‘I do love you, more than you can know, but I love you for your heart not for fine jewels and fancy clothing’ the princess can’t understand this, she can’t understand why someone could love her for just herself, so she leaves, unable to understand how someone could love her without fine jewels or riches,” Astra shifted, turning to face Alex “right now, in this moment, I feel like that princess,” she whispered “I can’t understand how you can love me, knowing about who I really am” Alex smiled softly, reaching up to cup Astra’s cheek

“There’s an old saying,” she began “I never really believed it until now, ‘love is blind’, I love you because I love you” she explained, Astra closed her eyes, bowing her head and resting her forehead against Alex’s

“We’re quite the mismatched pair, aren’t we?” she wondered, Alex nodded mutely

“We are” she agreed

******

Alex woke to the sound of shuffling. Rolling over she saw Astra standing by the bedroom window, the first rays of dawn peeking over the horizon. Shrugging off the covers she padded over to the other woman, wrapping her arms around Astra’s waist and resting her chin against her shoulder

“You stayed” she murmured, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice

“There’s no place I’d rather be,” Astra answered, without taking her eyes off the view outside the window “I always liked this time of day,” she remarked quietly “the early dawn and the late evening, it…reminds me of home,” she whispered “the home I once had”

“You still have a home, Astra” Alex reminded her softly

“Do I?”

“You do,” Alex leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against Astra’s shoulder “here, with me”


	12. Training Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara's training begins, Alex's learns a secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA! Chapter Twelve! Thanks for all your comments on the last chapter (although thanks to koreepiphany12 I now can't get that song out of my head) anywho on we go!!

******

Alex watched with a bit of envy as Kara twirled and swooped in the air, evading one missile with fairly good skill

“She’s pretty good, isn’t she?” Alex turned to Vasquez and nodded

“She is” she agreed as she leaned out of the tent slightly to get a better view

“Still,” Vasquez muttered as she popped a Choco into her mouth “her aunt’s better” Alex turned to stare at Vasquez, keeping her face perfectly blank she asked

“What’d you mean ‘her aunt’?” Vasquez chuckled, giving Alex a slightly patronizing look

“C’mon, Alex,” she said “did you _really_ think that Superman would let a Fort Rozz escapee take over the DEO without _some_ sort of backup plan?” Alex stared at her as the pieces fell into place

“You’re like a…a watchdog aren’t you?” she began “Astra steps out of line, you tell him, and she’s knows that” Vasquez nodded

“He and I, we’re…not exactly friends, but we’re…close,” she explained “we trust each other,” she turned to face Alex “he actually asked me to join the DEO originally to keep an eye on your father” she explained

“My father?” Alex asked, unable to keep the shock out of her voice, Vasquez nodded

“He wanted me to look out for Jeremiah, to make sure he stayed off Henshaw’s shit-list,” she replied with a sad sigh “he was good man, your father, kind and gentle,” she said sadly, she shook her head as if to clear it “anyway, after both Jeremiah and Henshaw died, Superman asked me to stay on here at the DEO, to keep an eye on her” she nodded towards Astra, who was peering through a pair of binoculars at Kara

“How’s she doing so far?” Alex wondered

“So far, A-plus,” Vasquez replied “well…,” she frowned “more of a D-minus for sleeping with you, but I’ll up that an even B since you’re both keeping it professional and out of the workplace”

“OK, how do you know that?” Alex demanded, no sense in hiding it now, she figured, although they hadn’t told Kara yet, that was one secret Kara didn’t need to know just yet. Vasquez just chuckled as she poured the last of the Choco crumbs from the bag into her mouth

“I’m a technician, Alex, not a field agent,” she explained “no one notices me, I’m just part of the wallpaper as far as everyone else in concerned”

“I’m sorry” Alex apologized, Vasquez shook her head

“Don’t be, I like it, you learn a lot by being invisible” she explained

“Hey,” Alex called out as Vasquez turned to go “how could Superman be sure that Astra wouldn’t just kill you to keep you quiet?” she asked, Vasquez chuckled again

“Faith” she explained simply, with that she left, leaving Alex alone with her thoughts. Finally, she shook herself off and walked over to Astra

“I just an interesting conversation with Agent Vasquez” she began

“Did you now?” Astra asked, she frowned as Kara just barely evaded the third missile and then tapped her comm. “is that the fastest you can go?” she asked

“ _Are these tests mandatory for_ everyone?” Kara replied over the comm. “ _or it is just because I’m an—_ ”

“It’s not because you’re a woman, Ms. Danvers,” Astra replied, back to Director Inzeli again “the DEO requires rigorous physical and psychological training for _all_ prospective operatives”

“ _I was going to say ‘alien’_ ” Kara replied

“A novice superhero could become an extremely dangerous liability in the field,” Astra explained, completely ignoring Kara’s comment and making a mark on her clipboard “I need to know that you’re in full control of your abilities, strength, agility, speed” she continued. As if on cue, there was a sudden deafening boom and Kara suddenly streaked across the sky. Alex turned to Astra, unable to keep the excited grin off her face

“Your niece just broke the sound barrier” she said

“Good for her,” Astra replied, looking unimpressed, she turned to the agents operating the missile controls “fire again” she ordered, and two more missiles were quickly fired off. Alex watched, suitably impressed, as Kara shot straight up and did a barrel roll, the missiles colliding with each other as they tried to keep up. Seconds later Kara landed with a bang, grinning

“So?” she asked “did I pass?”

“For now” Astra nodded simply before she walked away

“What’s with her?” Kara asked, looking at Alex with a mix of confusion and hurt

“She’s worried about you,” Alex explained “that’s why she’s pushing you so hard, and you’re not the only one here who thought they ready for fieldwork and kept getting tested, she had me undergo a _year_ of training before she let out into the field”

“But I _am_ ready, Alex” Kara insisted, all but bouncing with glee “I can do it”

“I know you _can_ do it,” Alex soothed “but are you _ready_ to?”

“I am” Kara insisted, Alex nodded

“Come with me” she said

******

“The back of her head is becoming a familiar sight around here lately” Astra remarked as Kara stalked away from the training room in a bruised huff

“I _hated_ having to do that” Alex grumbled

“I know you did, love,” Astra nodded “but it was necessary, she feels that her powers alone make up for any other shortcomings she may have in terms of skill or expertise"

“Yeah, except now she hates me even more” Alex groaned

“No she doesn’t,” Astra sighed “I’ll talk to her"

“Are you sure?” Alex asked, Astra nodded

“I’m sure,” she said “it’s time she knew the truth”


	13. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra confronts Kara and tells her everything. Well almost everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Chapter Eight of Strange Visitor!

******

“Ma’am?” Astra looked up as Vasquez poked her head in the door “I think you should see this” she held out the tablet PC in her hand

“What happened here?” Astra wondered as took the tablet

“Fire at the Port,” Vasquez explained “Supergirl tried to move an oil tanker away from the flames”

“Why do I get the feeling that there _isn’t_ a happy ending to this tale?” Astra grumbled

“Well, the fire got put out,” Vasquez pointed out “but when your niece tried to move the tanker she tore a hole in the hull—”

“…spilling tons of crude oil into the bay,” Astra finished “great” Vasquez nodded

“You should see this though” she tapped the screen of the tablet

_“Forget about Supergirl’s lack experience,”_ Maxwell Lord was saying _“I’m talking about the trouble she’ll bring to National City. Look at Metropolis, since Superman’s arrival, a veritable ‘super bad guy war’ has been waged on that city; their maintenance budget has…quadrupled. National City does not need that kind of problem”_ Astra scowled and thrust the tablet back at Vasquez

“Why is it that whenever I hear that man speak I feel like I need a dozen showers?” she wondered

“Hear him?” Vasquez snorted “I feel like that just _seeing_ him,” she tucked the tablet under her arm “so, have you talked to her yet?”

“No” Vasquez sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose

“OK, look, you three cannot keep doing this, this…dance you all keep doing, you and Alex are already on even ground in your…relationship, and that’s good, now you need to patch things up with Kara…just…talk to her”

“You make it sound easy,” Astra snorted “tell me, exactly, _how_ I should start that particular conversation, hmm? ‘hello, Kara how are you feeling, oh yes, by the way I was imprisoned in Fort Rozz by your mother’, tell me should I also mention the fact that I’ve been sleeping with her sister for the past six months?” she shook her head “I...she’s just starting to trust me again, I can’t break that trust, J’onn, not now”

“Better you break it now than later,” the Martian replied “if you do it now there’ll still be time for her to get over it, but there won’t be later,” she reached out and gave Astra’s arm a firm squeeze “just talk to her, don’t be angry, just talk” she advised

******

Astra took a breath as she raised her hand to knock on Kara’s apartment door. She’d faced countless enemies, actually saved entire planets from destruction, hid her identity and infiltrated a top secret U.S. government agency, all without breaking a sweat, and yet the simple door in front of her was infinity more terrifying than of that. Stamping down her anxiety she knocked, half a minute later the door swung open, revealing Kara still dressed in that ridiculous outfit. Looking past Kara, Astra could see two men standing in the room; she recognized them both, although she’d only met one of them

“Can we talk?” she asked, Kara nodded awkwardly and opened the door wider to let her in. She gestured to the other two people in the room

“Uh, these are my friends,” she said “uh, guys, this is—”

“I’m Kara’s aunt,” Astra introduced herself, deciding to just forgo the pretense “Astra In-Ze”

“Wait you’re Kara’s aunt?” Winn asked “so does that mean that…?”

“I’m Kryptonian, yes” Astra answered

“Awesome!”

“Uh, Aunt Astra, this is—”

“Winslow ‘Winn’ Schott Jr. and James Olsen,” Astra finished “yes, I know who they are,” she held out her hand to James “Mr. Olsen and I have met before”

“Good to see you, General,” James said politely as he shook her hand. He frowned and glanced between the two women “you know what, we’re going to go,” he said suddenly “I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about” he added as he hustled Winn towards the door

“Mr. Olsen,” Astra called out, James paused in the doorway “when you see him again, please tell him thank you from me would you?” James nodded

“Of course” he said, he waved to Kara and then quietly shut the door over Winn’s hushed protests. Once the door was closed, Kara turned to Astra

“Did you really think that it was good idea to tell your friends who you are?” Astra asked before Kara could get a word out

“I’m allowed to have friends, aren’t I?” Kara demanded “or is that against the rules _Director Inzeli_?” she cringed almost as soon as she finished “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that”

“Yes, you did,” Astra said, she nodded to the suit “could you…change please? I can’t take you seriously in that ridiculous thing”

“Oh. Sorry,” Kara shot out of the room at superspeed, returning a few seconds later in a comfortable looking pair of sweatpants and shirt “so, how do you know James?” she asked as she sat down, in response Astra reached into her pocket and pulled out a rounded disc and held it up

“Do you remember this?” she asked. Kara sat up, staring at the device in Astra’s palm with wide eyes

“You kept it” she whispered, Astra nodded

“It’s time you knew the truth, Kara,” she sat down awkwardly, staring at the small device in her hands for a moment “did your mother ever tell you what happened to me? Why I just…disappeared?” Kara shook her head

“No, you just…vanished one day,” she said “I think mother once said that you were off on a long assignment or something”

“Or something,” Astra chuckled dryly “I guess she never thought to mention that I was a prisoner aboard Fort Rozz?” Kara jerked back in surprise “about how she had banished me, her own blood, to that, that…living _hell_?”

“Why…?” Kara began “why were you in Fort Rozz?” she finally asked, Astra laughed bitterly

“For being a hero? For trying to save our planet?” she snorted “it’s…difficult to explain,” she began “but…I knew that Krypton was dying, I presented my findings to the High Council, but no one on the Council would listen to me, not even your mother, so I devised a…desperate solution, and that’s when things went wrong,” she took a breath “because Non became…radical and killed a guard, and so we were both sentenced to Fort Rozz for treason,” she nodded to the spy beacon still clutched in her hand “when I went on the run, I kept this with me,” she explained “I would hold it my hand to remind myself of why I was turning my back on my family, of why I was betraying the High Council, of why I was betraying Alura. It would all be worth it if you survived,” she smiled bitterly “your mother was the one who arrested me, did you know that?” Kara shook her head

“No,” she said “mother would never…no” Astra nodded bitterly

“Do you want to know how she caught me?” she asked “that day in your room, the last time we saw each other, tell me was your idea to message me with spy beacon. Or was it Alura’s?” Kara slowly shook her head in disbelief “your mother signed the death warrants of our entire race and she used you to do”

“I don’t believe you” Kara finally said

“Yes, you do, as much as you don’t want to,” Astra countered “that’s why you’re still listening” Kara shook her head again

“No, my mother was the most—”

“Your mother was many things, Kara,” Astra interrupted gently “she could be very kind and compassionate, but she could also be cold and manipulative” she explained, Kara shook her head

“No” she said firmly, Astra nodded

“I know you hate me right now,” she said “but I’m not telling you this to hurt you, I’m telling you this because I want you to understand. You asked me how I knew James Olsen,” at Kara’s stiff nod Astra continued “after Fort Rozz crashed, the prisoners scattered, the DEO was ordered to hunt them down, led by a man named Hank Henshaw they did just that, ruthlessly hunting down any alien that came to Earth regardless of intention or whether they were former prisoners aboard Fort Rozz. Around that same time Hank Henshaw came to Midvale, he had tracked you down and tried to convince Jeremiah into turning you over to him, to turn you into an’ asset’, a living weapon. But Jeremiah offered him a compromise instead, you would go unharmed and in exchange he would for Henshaw, turning over any and all information he had on your cousin. A few months after Jeremiah was blackmailed the DEO tracked down one of the Fort Rozz escapees to the Pacific Northwest”

“You” Kara realized, Astra nodded

“Jeremiah saw that I wasn’t a threat and tried to stop Henshaw but failed,” she pulled out the photograph from her pocket “he gave me this,” she explained, holding it out “and told me take care of his girls. I promised that I would, that I would look after Alex as well as you”

“That’s why your recruited her,” Kara realized “to keep her safe,” Astra nodded “but…why didn’t you…find me?” Kara asked

“And be like Henshaw? Some stranger who appeared at the door in the middle of the night demanding that you be turned over to me?” Astra shook her head “I had no right to do that, to take you away from what had already become your home,” she leaned forward “Jeremiah Danvers’ death…changed me,” she began “before I met him I was consumed by rage and grief and haunted by my experiences in Fort Rozz, but after I met Jeremiah, I found a new purpose in life, I decided that I couldn’t allow another world to be destroyed like Krypton had”

“That’s how you met James isn’t?” Kara asked “you met him through my cousin” Astra nodded

“Kal-El knew about how Jeremiah had sacrificed himself to save me,” she explained “and he convinced me that I needed to honor that sacrifice, and we both knew that the DEO could be a force for good on this world with the right leadership, so…”

“You became head of the DEO” Kara nodded along, Astra nodded

“Since that day I’ve tried to bring honor to the DEO,” she explained “I’ve tried to turn its mission into one of hope. Before I came along Henshaw and his inner circle were nothing more that butchers, perverse hunters that took pleasure in the slaughter of sentient beings,” she sighed, feeling tired and drained “it’s late,” she muttered “I should go,” as she stood up to leave Kara suddenly grabbed her arm, frowning, Astra turned back, watching as Kara visibly trembled “oh, Kara,” she sighed as Kara suddenly let out a sob and pulled her close, sobbing into her shoulder “hush, it’s all right” she soothed, running her fingers through long blonde hair. She pulled away, gently cupping Kara’s face “oh, look at you,” she whispered tearfully “look how you’ve grown, little one. So beautiful” Kara laughed

“I’m not so ‘little’ anymore,” she grinned slightly “I think I’m as tall as you now,” she added “taller even” Astra playfully scowled

“So you say” she teased, Kara gently tightened her grip when Astra started to pull away

“Could you…I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to, and I’m sure you’ve got some important DEO business to take care of in the morning so—” Astra gently put a finger to Kara’s lips, stopping her mid-babble

“Hush,” she said “I’ll stay tonight, if you’ll have me”

“I want you to” Kara nodded, snuggling deeper into Astra’s embrace


	14. Hard Knocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra find out about the Hellgermite and Kara finally loses her cool over Astra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry I haven't been around lately, but I've got bills to pay and food to buy. Anyway here's an update to Strange Visitor

******

“So, how did Kara take it?” Alex asked as she and Astra walked down the corridor of Plastino Chemicals, the sharp sting of various chemicals in the air

“I think she’s trying to be more accepting than she actually is,” Astra replied “she accepted Alura’s role in my imprisonment far too easily,” she explained “I think she still holds some underlying anger at my abandonment of her, especially since I knew where she was for all these years…which is right... _here_ ,” she stopped and frowned at the sight of Kara, in her full costume, crouched down on the ground, watching as one of the field agents pulled a barb out of the dead body of one of the two guards killed the night before. Astra frowned at Alex “what is she doing here?” she asked

“I called her,” Alex explained with a shrug “she’s an alien, we hunt aliens. It’s a resource we didn’t have before,” she smirked and lowered her voice “well, not officially anyway” she added with a smirk, Astra smirked back somewhat mockingly at her, clearly not amused

“Supergirl” she called out, Kara turned and stood up, and Alex could see the anger in her eyes as she saw Astra, it was slight, but it was there

“What can I do to help?” she asked, still sounding eager to get going, Alex cringed at that eagerness

“Look around, see if you spot something out of the ordinary, but don’t touch anything” she explained

“And try not to cause anymore oil spills” Astra suggested sarcastically, Alex rolled her eyes as Astra gently pulled her aside

“She’s still angry with you” Alex muttered as they moved away

“Hmm,” was Astra’s non-committal answer “right now we have more pressing issues at hand, Agent Danvers,” she explained “this facility stores various volatile chemicals, sodium nitrate, potassium chloride”

“All the ingredients for a chemical bomb” Alex realized, Astra nodded

“Many of which went missing last night,” she explained “we need to find this alien, and fast” she added. As another agent called ‘Director Inzeli’ over, Alex watched Astra, noticing that, like Clark (and unlike Kara), she didn’t really try to hide who she was as ‘Director Astra Inzeli’, she didn’t act differently, talk differently, she didn’t go on zealous tirades about how all aliens were threats to humanity in order to draw attention away from the fact that she herself was an alien.

While Kara was clearly trying to live up to people’s beliefs and expectations of Superman by putting on this ‘heroic’ persona, Astra didn’t do any of that, she didn’t try to ‘act human’, and Alex suspected that she was much the same here on Earth as she had been back on Krypton. A good leader who was hard on her troops because she cared about what happened to them, compassionate to the point of bordering on a Messiah complex, someone who, like Kara, desperately believed she could—or at least should try to—save everyone. But, unlike Kara, Astra could disregard things like ‘morality’ and ‘ethics’ if it meant she had even the slightest chance of saving those she loved, which made her a dangerous enemy in combat, because—if it came down to it—Astra would willingly sacrifice a thousand people without hesitation in order to save a billion more

And that fact, strangely, only made Alex love her more

******

“You’re looking for a ‘Helllgermite’,” Kara explained once they were back at the DEO “it’s basically a giant insect, but it can shift into human form” she continued

“A giant alien insect who stole the parts for a chemical bomb,” Alex surmised “boy, this job never ceases to amaze”

“I believe the brochure did say ‘never-ending excitement’” Astra quipped, behind her, Alex saw Vasquez stifle a laugh

“Well,” Alex continued, ignoring Vasquez for now “according to the prisoner files we salvaged from Fort Rozz after it crashed there was a Hellgermite onboard”

“So, you track him down and I take him out,” Kara declared “just like we did with Vartox”

“I wasn’t aware that I had cleared you for active fieldwork yet, Ms. Danvers” Astra commented

“With all due respect _Director_ , I’m _more_ than ready” Kara countered, Astra raised an eyebrow at that

“Is that so?” she asked

******

About fifteen minutes later, Astra and Kara landed at an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district, Alex pulling up behind them in a DEO-issue SUV

“What are we doing… _here_?” Kara, wrinkling her nose in clear disgust at the interior of the warehouse, which looked like it should be (and probably was) condemned. Most of the windows were either gone or the glass was so dirty you could barely see any light from outside, the walls had all been stripped bare, leaving behind the exposed support beams, which were clearly starting to rust away in the elements

“This, believe it or not, is actually a DEO training facility,” Astra explained “one of several warehouses we own throughout the city. We use them mainly for urban combat simulations”

“More tests?” Kara sighed

“Yes” Astra answered, while Kara sighed melodramatically and rolled her eyes

“Aunt Astra!” she all but whined “I can do this! I can bend steel with my bare hands, I’ve finished all the DEO’s tests, I even let Alex kick my butt in a room laced with kryptonite!” she proclaimed

“You ‘let me’?” Alex echoed incredulously, her comment going unacknowledged by the other two women

“So you think that you’re ready?” Astra asked, walking up to Kara, who nodded

“Yes” she stated, Astra nodded as she reached out and absently tucked a lock of hair behind Kara’s ear

“Then allow me to correct you,” she said softly, with that she suddenly backhanded Kara across the room, sending her crashing straight _through_ a wall “get up,” she ordered, marching up to Kara, who was struggling to get to her feet “get up” she repeated

“Yeah,” Kara panted out “I will, just give me a—” Astra suddenly shot forward, grabbing Kara’s arm and roughly hauling her to her feet

“Your enemies will not ‘wait’ for you to catch your breath,” she snarled “they will not stop beating you because you ‘asked nicely’,” she swung Kara across the room “these people will want to _kill_ you, Kara. And they won’t be quick about it either, they will want you to _**suffer**_ first,” Kara suddenly shot to her feet, firing off a blast of heat vision, which Astra matched with her own “good,” she praised, she slowly began to circle Kara “but now what? We’re at an impasse, we can’t just keep circling each other,” she pointed out as she slowly started to march forward, the intensity of her heat vision increasing the closer she got. Kara slowly floated up off the ground, Astra’s heat vision following her easily.

Kara lifted her head, causing the combined heat vision blast to strike a support girder in the ceiling, sending it crashing to the ground in a shower of sparks. Astra easily dodged it, shooting up to join Kara in the air, easily blocking Kara’s clumsy kicks and punches before suddenly body-slamming Kara into the ground “remember," she said as she easily pinned Kara "your enemies will try to use whatever advantage they can find,” she explained “don’t give them anything that they can use against you. For example,” she stood up, hauling Kara up with her “you might want to rethink the cape,” grabbing a fistful of the cape, Astra flung Kara across the room like a Frisbee, only for Kara to come flying back, slamming into Astra and carrying her into a support beam, the steel I-beam actually _buckling_ under the impact of two superpowered-Kryptonians colliding with it, before Kara started _wailing_ on Astra.

Watching all of this (from a safe distance) Alex suddenly realized what Astra was doing, in addition to giving Kara a metaphorical kick in the pants and giving her ego a much-deserved bruise, she was also allowing Kara to use her as a punching bag on purpose, allowing Kara to vent her anger. Even now Kara was clearly starting to lose control, her punches and kicks became wild, almost animalistic. Astra just blocked each blow, not really fighting back by this point, just making sure that Kara didn’t do too much damage. Finally Astra fired off a blast of heat vision, knocking Kara back “that’s enough!” she roared

“You…!” Kara suddenly lunged, but Astra simply grabbed her and swung her into the ground, pinning her there with a foot to her midsection

“I said ‘that’s enough’ Kara!” she snarled as she gently eased up, allowing Kara to spring up to her feet, ready for another fight

“Kara!” Alex marched forward, gripping Kara’s arm before she could do something she’d regret

“You need to learn to control your anger” Astra warned

“What do you know?!” Kara snapped

“I know more than you think, little one” Astra pointed out, Kara’s face contorted into mask of pure rage

“YOU DON'T GET TO CALL ME THAT ANYMORE!!” she suddenly roared “YOU LEFT ME! YOU LEFT ME ALONE! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!?!?!?” she suddenly sagged against Alex, sobbing

“I didn’t abandon you Kara,” Astra said softly “I couldn’t,” she shook her head “but I couldn’t take you away from your sister either. By the time I finally found you in Midvale, Jeremiah had been dead for a month, Alex needed your support to get her through that, ” she explained “how could I take you away from that?” she wondered "how could I deny Alex a confidant and much-needed friend in a time of need?" with that she turned and walked away, leaving Alex to hold Kara as she sobbed


	15. The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra and Alex track down the Hellgermite, things don't go according to plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Chapter Eleven of Strange Visitor, cool, one update here and two over at Part Five of What we are. I'd once again want to thank everyone for following this strange idea that is Strange Visitor and hope you'll comment on it (I like the comments because I like to hear what people think of my work)
> 
> Anyway, now on with the show

******

“What’s the news on the Hellgermite?” Alex asked, what she really wanted to ask was ‘what the hell were you thinking?’, she wanted to tear into Astra, because while she was right in not taking Kara away from the Danvers, Astra still could have been there, could have still been a part of Kara’s life here on Earth during those rough, early years. But Alex couldn’t ask her that, not here in the middle of Command

“There have been similar attacks on six other chemical storage facilities across the country over the past year,” Astra explained “our bug’s been making his way to National City with enough chemical compounds to make a weapon of mass destruction”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Vasquez announced “the lab results just came back, our bug’s blood isn’t carbon based like humans, instead it has a chorine foundation”

“Well, if he’s not building a bomb, what does he want with those chemicals?” Astra wondered, Alex frowned as her brain began to work overtime as she stared at the list of facilities on the screen

“He’s _eating_ it!” she realized, she gestured to the screen “look, all of these facilities also stockpiled confiscated DDT; if the Hellgermite’s blood is chlorine-based, then DDT would be the closest thing on Earth he has to food”

“The government’s been destroying all the stockpiles of DDT” Astra commented, Alex nodded

“So his food source is shrinking” she finished

“Well, then,” Astra began “if he’s looking for food…” she smirked at Alex, and Alex found herself returning the smirk despite everything

“Let’s buy him dinner” she agreed

******

It took a few hours, and a bit of shouting through telephone lines, but finally, by nightfall, the DEO had gotten their hands on a truck all but brimming with about eight barrels of DDT, more than enough (Alex hoped) to draw out the Hellgermite. The cover story was that they were simply escorting the truck to a storage facility, nothing unusual about that, government agents escorted hazardous waste convoys all the time

 _“Trap One to Greyhound leader, all clear, no sign of the target”_ the driver of the truck reported on schedule

“Copy that, keep alert,” Astra replied from behind the wheel of the SVU following the truck down the interstate “let’s hope this movable fest proves too hard to resist.” she muttered. Next to her, riding shotgun, Alex was briefly mesmerized by the way the wind from the open windows (easier and quicker to shoot at a target) caught Astra’s hair, the lights lining the highway giving Astra’s skin an almost-ghostly glow, the white streak in her hair all-but shimmering “eyes on the road, Agent Danvers” Astra reprimanded gently. Alex shook herself out of the her daze

“Sorry, ma’am” she apologized, Astra nodded

“That’s all right,” she said softly, soft enough Alex hoped that the other agents in the back couldn’t hear her “where are you?” Astra murmured, scanning the highway

“If he’s anything like insects here on Earth, the Hellgermite should have a superior sense of smell,” Alex explained “he should have noticed the DDT in the atmosphere by now, even without the broken seals” she said, referring to the two barrels whose lids had been cracked intentionally in order to leave a scent trail for the Hellgermite to follow

“So where is he?” Astra wondered. A figure suddenly appeared from the left, literally _leaping_ up from beneath the overpass and landing directly on top of the truck “ _trap one, target is on your vehicle!_ ” Astra quickly leaned out the window and opened fire, Alex following suit, and as she fired at the Hellgermite, Alex had to admire Astra’s dexterity at being able to drive and shoot at the same time.

The Hellgermite jumped, bobbing and weaving as it tired to avoid the gunfire. Suddenly something whistled through the air, piercing the windshield to strike one of the agents in the backseat, one of the barbs they’d found in the two dead guards, Alex realized. Looking back towards the truck, she watched in morbid fascination as the Hellgermite suddenly came flying straight towards the SVU.

The car shook as the Hellgermtie landed on the roof and began to fire straight down, its barbs falling into the cabin like rain. In seconds the rest of the strike team had been hit, either dead or injured “Alex, drive!” Astra let go of the steering wheel and quickly reloaded her gun, them simply pointed it up and fired straight through the roof at the Hellgermite. Another barb shot down in reply, striking Alex in the upper thigh

“I’m hit!” she announced as she ground her teeth together, the damn thing _burned_ , and was probably leeching all sorts of toxins and poisons into her system. There was a sudden tearing sound, and Alex looked up to see the Hellgermite tear a hole in the roof with about as much effort it took her to tear open a bag of chips. It reached down, the lower half of its face open in a gapping maw, and easily grabbed her arm

“Alex!” she briefly felt Astra grab her arm, but either the Hellgermite was stronger or Astra wasn’t as dexterous as she seemed with her other hand on the steering wheel, because she was suddenly being hauled out of the car and then they were airborne…


	16. Stronger Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra and Kara find Alex, Non appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIPLE UPDATE!!!!

******

Alex hit the ground _hard_ , pain lanced through her and she writhed on the ground for a moment, trying to get her bearings

“Where’s the Kryptonian?” a male voice demanded, weakly Alex managed to focus on the newcomer, a tall board-shouldered blonde man who looked very human, was he Kryptonian she wondered

“She didn’t show,” the Hellgermite answered, he nudged Alex with his boot “but this is one of the human agents,” he explained “I’m hoping that’ll be enough to keep you off my back” as the Hellgermitte shuffled off, the blonde turned his attention to Alex, leaning over her and looking at her like she was a vaguely interesting lab specimen. He reached out, pressing his boot to her chest, applying just enough pressure to make it hard to breath, but not so hard as to cause real injury

“I have been waiting for quite some time to capture one of you alive” he rasped

******

“I should have been there!!” Astra turned at Kara’s voice, seeing her niece angry marching towards her “if I was there, if you _trusted_ me, instead of putting me through your _tests_ , none of this would’ve have happened”

“Or you could be captured or dead” Astra pointed out

“I know to you she’s just ‘an agent’, but she’s my family, my _sister_ ,” Kara snarled “does that mean _anything_ to you anymore?!”

“Watch what you say, _girl_ ,” Astra warned, her voice a low growl in her throat “Alex means more to me than you think, _much more_ ,” she sighed, the fight leaving her almost as fast as it came “look, we have every satellite and tactical drone in the air, searching this whole city for her” she explained, Kara nodded

“And now you have me” with that she turned and was gone in a gust of air and a streak of red and blue

******

After a few tries, Alex finally managed to pull herself upright, propping herself up on her elbow

“What do you want?” she asked, the still-unnamed blonde raised an eyebrow at her question

“You’re not in the position to be asking questions, _human_ ,” he sneered, he swung back his leg, as if ready to kick her “perhaps I should just kill you now”

“You kill me, you lose your chance at Supergirl,” Alex pointed out “because she’s the one you want, right?” the blonde smirked

“You overstate you own importance” he rasped out, he suddenly dropped his leg and turned and walked away

******

_”Director Inzeli, I found her!”_ Kara suddenly called out over the comm. _“an abandoned warehouse at the corner of 78th and Washington. I’m going to get her back”_

“Ms. Danvers, wait!” Astra called out, but her only answer was a crackle of static. Snarling in frustration she tore the comm. off her ear “Vasquez!” she barked out “get a strike team ready, we’re moving out!”

“Yes, ma’am”

******

Alex watched as a shadow suddenly fell across the floor, she watched as Kara walked in. But the blonde was still here as far she knew, which meant…

“No, get out, it’s a trap!” she yelled, Kara froze, turning around just in time for the blonde to land a hard punch to her jaw, sending her flying into a half-collapsed wall

“You remember me, _little girl_?” he sneered. Kara quickly got to her feet

“You’re Non,” she spat out, the venom clear in her voice “Astra’s husband” Alex felt a sudden spike of jealousy go there her

“Very good,” Non replied, he gave her once over, sneering at her costume “and to think you’re the last surviving daughter of the great House of El” he hissed, Kara shifted into a fighting stance

“You’re going to wish I died with the rest of them!” she suddenly shot forward, Non quickly matching her move, they collided in midair, each punching, kicking, and grappling with each other, and as Alex began to crawl towards her gear, she couldn’t help but notice that Kara was better, unlike when she had fought Astra, she was more in control, more focused

******

_”Strike team, this is Vasquez, are you in position?”_

“Confirmed”

_“Strike team, orders from the Director are to wait for her signal. Confirm”_

“Confirmed”

 _”Copy that”_ back at the DEO, Vasquez took a breath and hoped that Astra knew what she was doing

******

Finally, after what felt like hours, Alex managed to reach her gear, which was still a in pile where the Hellgermite had torn it off her. Gasping for breath and working through the pain she grabbed the radio

“Trap leader this Greyhound, do you copy?” but before any answer could come through, something suddenly grabbed her and flung her into a chain link fence. As her head swam, she saw the Hellgermite looming over her. He roughly grabbed her arm again and hauled her upright, pinning her to the fence

“It’s nothing personal,” he rasped, a barb extending from the palm of its hand to point dangerously close to Alex’s throat “just that every species has a will to survive” he continued

“Do you what most species also have?” Alex asked, at the Hellgermite’s confused expression she shifted her weight to her injured leg and promptly kicked him in the balls “those” she snarled. The Hellgermite roared in pain and lunged. Alex sidestepped, grabbing his arm and swing under it, only to twist around and stab him in the chest with his own barb, which felt extremely satisfying. A crash caught her attention and looking towards back the fight, Alex saw Kara dodge Non’s next punch and use his own momentum to send him careening into a wall “hey” Alex was somewhat pissed at the fact that she was hobbling towards Kara, rather than looking cool and badass, but Kara hugged her all the same

“Are you OK?” Kara asked frantically, but before Alex could answer a blast of icy cold wind suddenly hit them both, knocking them to the floor

“I saw that you haven’t quite mastered that one,” Non gloated, he chuckled as he marched over to them “you fought well, Kara Zor-El,” he said, a hint of honest approval in his voice. His eyes suddenly lit up with the familiar glow of heat vision “but I will not be dying today” he snarled. There was a sudden woosh and a figure in black suddenly collided with Non, knocking him off balance. Non spun around, glowering at his attacker “you!” he hissed

“Did you really think this was over?” Astra asked as she straightened up from the half-crouch she’d landed in

“You stupid woman!” Non spat “do you have any idea what you’re doing?!” he demanded

“I thought that was obvious,” Astra said causally “I’m stopping you” Non sneered at her, the pure _hate_ clear in his whole body, if he was her husband they certainly weren’t married anymore, Alex thought

“Your sister thought she could,” he hissed “but she _failed_!” Astra shook her head, her stance like a cobra’s, ready to strike

“I won’t,” she hissed, before she suddenly leapt into the air, sailing towards Non with her arm drawn back, landing a hard punch to his chest, knocking him to the ground “because I’ve known loss,” she hissed “and _pain_ , and _hate_ , and _rage_. But I’ve also known hope, and compassion, and love,” she grabbed Non’s collar and flung him across the room “I may have been born on Krypton, but I choose this world. _Earth_ , is my home now,” she declared “and I will protect it until my dying breath!” with an angry roar Non suddenly shot to his feet, shooting across the room and grabbing Astra by the throat and hoisting her off her feet

“How can you protect this world from me when you possess no weapon that could hurt me?” he gloated, Astra grinned, bearing her teeth in a predatory grin

“Maybe I do,” there was a flash of green as she plunged a kryptonite blade into Non’s arm, burying it to the hilt. With a pained roar, Non flung Astra away, cradling his injured limb as Astra raised a hand to her ear “breach!” she ordered, there was an explosion and then DEO agents started pouring into the building like a horde of ants. Non glowered at Astra as she climbed to her feet “burns, doesn’t it?” she taunted

“There will be a reckoning” Non vowed

“Can’t wait” Astra quipped before Non suddenly shot up into the air, crashing through the ceiling and disappearing. Idly rubbing at her throat, Astra and turned, helping Kara get Alex to her feel. She smiled at the Danvers sisters as the strike team surrounded them “I do _love_ these family reunions” she muttered sarcastically


	17. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra and Kara finally make amends, Kara learns something she didn't want to know, and Alex and Astra have an intimate moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA multiple update, I've been updating so much today, I've lost count. Thanks to Anna for commenting on Chapter Fifteen, I hope you and others will comment on this one.
> 
> And now, ONWARD!!

******

Alex winced as Dr, Hamilton placed the ice pack on her leg, the wound wasn’t serious thankfully, the barb had only hit some skin and fat, Alex wasn’t sure what that said about her thighs, but for the moment she was grateful that she wouldn’t need stitches and that could she still walk. She looked up as Astra hovered in the doorway as Dr. Hamilton quietly slipped out

“I wish that I had your healing powers” she muttered, Astra chuckled

“You took out that Hellgermite without any help from me, or Kara,” she pointed out, she sighed and sat down on the bench next to Alex “this is becoming a habit of ours," she muttered "we reach a good place in our…relationship and then something happens that derails it,” she gave Alex a bittersweet smile “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was married” she said

“Non, he was the lieutenant who tried to assassinate you, isn’t he?” Alex asked, Astra nodded “why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because my marriage ended the moment we were sentenced to Fort Rozz,” Astra explained, she chuckled humorlessly “I’ve never been very good at this, family I mean, my relationship with my sister ended horrifically, my marriage was nothing more than a convenience, the only relationship I ever had that filled me with any bit of hope and love was with Kara, and I ruined that one as well”

“No you didn’t,” the two women looked up to see Kara standing in the door “aunt Astra, those things, I said…” Astra held up a hand

“No apologies are necessary,” she said “because you were right,” she patted the bench “sit down, please,” she invited, nodding Kara quickly sat on Astra’s other side. Sighing, Astra looked between the sisters “I know both of you are wondering why, if I knew where Kara was all this time, I wasn’t a part of her life, the answer is simply, I was afraid, I was terrified, terrified about what Alura told you about me, how could I face you only to have you run in fear from the criminal, the terrorist, the _traitor_?”

“You’re my family,” Kara whispered “whatever happened between you and mother is in the past, what matters is that you’re here now, that you’re trying to be a good a person, I don’t think Jeremiah would’ve risked that much for someone who didn’t deserve it”

“Oh, Kara,” Astra reached out, pulling her niece into a firm embrace “thank you, little one” she whispered

“You’re my family,” Kara repeated, she smiled at Alex “both of you,” she said “but, my uncle…we _have_ to stop him”

“We can teach you” Alex offered

“ _If_ you’re willing to _listen_ to the rules, that is” Astra emphasized, Kara’s head bobbed emphatically

“Teach me to be as good as you” she pleaded, Alex laughed

“We’ll make you better,” she said, she grinned as she suddenly remember something “come with me” she said, frowning the Kryptonians followed her

******

“You should be resting” Astra urged

“I’m fine, it won’t even scar” Alex insisted

“Well, the first thing you’re doing after whatever this is, is going home and resting” Astra ordered, Alex smirked

“You going to make me, _Director_?” she taunted

“Don’t tempt me” Astra grumbled

“Oh my god!” Kara suddenly exclaimed, her eyes bugged out of her head as she stopped dead in her tracks and looked between the two women “are you two… _dating_?” she squeaked

“Damn” Alex swore

“One less secret” Astra muttered, Alex sighed and nodded

“We are” she confirmed

“But…wha… _how_?!” Kara demanded, she held up a hand “family friendly version please”

“It just…sorta…happened” Alex explained vaguely, thinking it best that Kara not learn that she had been sleeping with Astra for about six months before they actually started dating

“We were ‘friends with benefits’ first” Astra announced

“EW! Alex! She’s my aunt!” Kara exclaimed, her eye got even wider (if that was possible) “wait, did you know who she was when you started…you know?”

“No,” Alex answered, her face still as red as Kara’s cape “I’m going to _kill_ you!” she hissed at Astra “we went out for drinks one night,” she began “and things just kinda snowballed from there”

“Oh my god, gross,” Kara muttered “so, wait, this is _serious_ , right? I mean you’re actually _dating_ now, not just…?”

“Yep,” Alex confirmed, she frowned at Kara “are you…OK with this?” she asked, Kara slowly nodded

“I’m a little freaked out about it,” she said “but, I think I’ll get over it. Now, can stop talking about this, please?”

“Yea, you were going to show us something?” Astra asked, Alex nodded and continued on down the corridor, stopping in front of a pair of doors

“OK,” she turned back to Kara “your cousin has this…well, I guess, ‘fortress’, is the only way to describe it, up north where he can communicate with his Kryptonian ancestors”

“But they’re all dead” Kara pointed out

“Not necessarily,” Astra began “they could have preserved their neural imprints in a holographic interface” Alex grinned and nodded to the control panel by the door

“It’ll only open for one of you” she explained, Kara reached out and placed her hand on the panel, the scanner quickly reading her palm before opening the door. Inside was a small room, the Crest of El projected on the walls and the floor. In the center of the room was a raised platform, which the hologram of Alura stood atop, waiting

“I don’t understand” Kara said, turning back to look at Alex confused. Astra slowly nodded, unable to take her eyes off the image

“The message in your pod,” she began softly “it wasn’t just a message _from_ Alura, it _was_ Alura, her collected knowledge,” Alex nodded as Astra turned to Alex “thank you” she said softly, Alex nodded, gently reaching to squeeze each of their shoulders in turn

“I’ll leave you to talk” she said quietly

“Alex, wait,” Astra called out suddenly “what if we need to use this? How do we explain the fact that it looks like me?” she asked, Alex smiled and nodded to the panel just inside the door

“Put you hand on the screen” she instructed, frowning, Astra did so, the panel scanning her palm. Almost-instantly the hologram warped, changing in appearance to resemble an older version of Kara, Alex grinned

“All you have to do is open the door yourself and it’ll change,” she explained, she gave Astra’s shoulder a firm squeeze “I’ll see you tonight?” she asked, Astra nodded “OK,” Alex whispered, she nodded to hologram “go, talk” she encouraged.

******

“Hey, Vasquez”

“Alex, hey, shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I’m fine,” Alex rolled her eyes “hey, listen thanks for helping me set up that room”

“No problem” Vasquez dismissed, Alex chuckled

“I mean it,” she insisted “that little trick with changing the hologram’s appearance was really nice work”

“Thanks,” Vasquez said “now go and lie down” Alex rolled her eyes

“Fine, fine” as she turned and limped away, Vasquez watched her go. J’onn J’onzz smiled to himself, Alex was just like her father, always willing to put the needs of others ahead of her own

******

Later that night, Alex winced as Astra gently fingered the bandage on her thigh

“Human beings are so fragile,” Astra murmured teasingly “its amazing any of you make it out of infancy”

“Gee thanks” Alex muttered, Astra chuckled, low in her throat, as she snuggled closer to Alex on the couch

“But you do much more than survive,” she pointed out “you _thrive_ , your kind can survive and endure incredible hardships, the likes of which I’ve only heard about, you built great monuments that mystify even yourselves,” she shifted and pulled back to look Alex square in the face “you are part of an incredible race, Alexandra Danvers, and I am awed to know you” she whispered, Alex grinned as she wrapped her arms around Astra’s waist

“Prove it,” she whispered “make love to me” Astra chuckled

“Always” she whispered


	18. Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra have a nice moment in the morning, then they find out about Kara's interview with Cat Grant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Chapter Eighteen of Strange Visitor. Now, a bit of timeline, in the actual episodes "Stronger Together" and "Fight or Flight" Kara mentions first in "Stronger Together" that it's 'been a week' since she 'revealed herself to National City' so I'm going on the assumption that in that time Alex met Winn and James and learned through Astra about them knowing about Kara, and "Fight or Flight" opens right after "Stronger Together", so I'm following that with Strange Visitor, hope that clears everything up
> 
> And now, ONWARDS!!

******

Alex groaned as she rolled over, she started slightly at the sight of Astra lying there next to her, apparently still asleep. Until a few nights ago, Astra had never stayed over, now, ever since they started dating, she had, and Alex still couldn’t believe it, couldn’t believe that she loved this woman so much. 

Gently, so as not to disturb Astra, she eased out of the covers, wincing as her injured leg twinged, Dr. Hamilton had said it would probably be sore for a few more days and that Alex would be limping as a result. Grumbling to herself, she hobbled out of the room and into the kitchen, grabbing a cup of coffee out of habit, she frowned as she realized she didn’t know what, if anything, Astra drank in the mornings, she’d occasionally seen Astra with a cup of _something_ at the DEO, but never knew what it was .

A grumble caught her attention, and looking over, she saw Astra sleepily shuffle into the kitchen, the Kryptonian looked nothing like the badass alien general Alex now knew her to be, in fact she looked rather….frazzled. Her hair was wild and unkempt and her eyes looked blurry and unfocused as she yawned widely. She stopped short suddenly, blinking at Alex in confusion

“What are you…?” she started, she blinked and looked around, as if suddenly remembering where she was “oh, right, this isn’t my apartment” she mumbled, Alex bit back a laugh and hid her grin behind a sip of coffee

“Do you want some coffee?” she offered, Astra shook her head, wild hair rustling as she did

“No, I don’t drink coffee,” she replied, sounding a bit more awake “do you have any black tea?” she asked

“Let me check,” Alex put down her coffee and dug through her cabinets, finally emerging with a box of English breakfast tea with only one tea bag left in it. She turned and held it up for Astra, only to see that Astra had gotten a magazine off her coffee table and was now sitting at the dinning table reading it.

It was a very…domestic scene Alex suddenly realized, she could easily envision herself and Astra doing this years from now. But for now, she disregarded images of white picket fences, and instead whistled to get Astra’s attention, she held up the box and Astra nodded silently “what do you want for breakfast?” she asked, busying herself with the kettle

“Whatever you decide is fine, darling” Astra answered, turning the page, Alex froze at the term of endearment, but then reminded herself that they weren’t ‘Director Inzeli’ and ‘Agent Davners’ right now, right now they were just ‘Astra’ and ‘Alex’, two people who were trying to make this relationship work, which meant terms of endearment, and besides ‘darling’ sounded much more classier than being called ‘babe’ or ‘baby’, whenever any one of her exs had called her that, Alex had always felt uncomfortable, like her partner patronizing her or that they had a latent pedophilia tendency.

Shaking herself off, she busied herself with getting breakfast ready, having to remind herself that she was cooking for two, when her cell phone suddenly rang. She frowned at the caller ID, wondering who would be calling her this early

“It’s Winn.” she announced as she pressed the ‘answer’ key “Winn?”

_“Alex, quick, turn on the news you_ need _to see this”_ Winn said frantically on the other end

“OK,” Alex quickly moved into the living room and grabbed the remote off the coffee table “what am I see—oh”

_“…once again for those of you just tuning in, in a story that is spreading across social media like wildfire, CatCo Worldwide Media CEO Cat Grant has just announced an exclusive interview with National City’s newest arrival, Supergirl. Everyone has questions about the so-called ‘Girl of Steel’ and this one and only exclusive interview promises answers, including intimate details on who she is, where she comes from, and why she’s here. It also confirms that Supergirl and Superman are indeed related, that they are in fact cousins”_

******

“Have you lost your mind?” Astra demanded “what were you _thinking_ giving that interview?”

“I wouldn’t say it was an ‘interview’, exactly,” Kara argued “more like…an intimate conversation which is being published”

“What’s next? A book deal? A reality show? _‘Keeping Up With the Kryptonians’_?!” with an angry snarl Astra stalked away

“So…she’s…mad?” Kara asked hesitantly as Alex walked over

“It’s hard to tell with her at times,” Alex explained, she sighed “why did you give that interview?”

“At first I did it for James…” Kara began

“Well that explains it”

“But I also did it for me,” Kara insisted “I still don’t know what Supergirl means, I thought that by talking to Ms. Grant it would give me some idea” Alex sighed

“Everyone wonders who they are at some point in their lives,” she explained “you’ll figure it out, Kara, just like you always do”

“Director,” Vasquez suddenly called out “we’ve got a code grey,” she pulled up an aerial view of the highway “it’s on the NCH...multiple vehicle collisions...no sign of alien activity...we’re clear”

“Run a thermal scan just to be sure,” Astra ordered “and Ms. Danvers, the next time you feel like talking to the press…” she trailed off as she stared at the empty air where Kara had been standing

“She’s excited,” Alex shrugged “it’s her first car accident”

******

Fifteen minutes later Kara stumbled into the DEO, her suit singed

“Hey,” Alex rushed towards her and grabbed Kara as she wobbled “we saw what happened, are you OK?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kara panted, she winced as Alex guided her to a chair “that guy…who was he?”

“Reactron,” Astra said as she walked over “at least that’s what the _Daily Planet_ colorfully dubbed him when he showed in Metropolis a few years ago”

“’Reactron’?” Kara echoed, clearly starting to get her breath back “that’s a _dumb_ name, who called him that?”

“Jimmy Olsen” Astra answered

“Oh,” Kara said, Alex bit back a laugh at Kara’s slightly dreamy expression “so, this guy, who is he really?” she asked, slowly standing up

“Unknown,” Astra answered, as she scanned a report in her hands “he remains at large after a series of very public fights with your cousin, neither one of them came out the victor, and no one knows why he’s so obsessed with killing Superman”

“So, what’s the plan?” Kara asked “how do we stop him?”

“We _don’t_ ” Astra answered as if it was obvious. Kara stared at her for a long moment, looking back and forth between Astra and Alex

“So what are you saying?” Kara finally asked, confused “we just…sit back and do nothing?”

“Reactron, whoever he is, is human,” Astra explained “thus this case falls outside the DEO’s jurisdiction”

“This man _flies_ and, and shoots _nuclear fireballs_ ,” Kara objected “how is that _not_ ‘extra-normal’?”

“He’s using advanced bio-medical tech,” Alex explained gently “advanced _human_ tech”

“I can’t risk exposing this organization every time a human criminal shows up in National City with some fancy toy in his hands” Astra explained

“And we can’t just let this guy run wild” Kara objected

“Then call your cousin,” Astra dismissed “Superman fights for ‘truth, justice, and the American way,” she fixed Kara with a pointed glare “last time I checked National City is _in_ America”


	19. Critical Mass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex helps Kara find Reactron, has an argument with Astra over it, and then gets a shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Chapter Nineteen of Strange Visitor! Thanks again for reading, I'm been trying to respond to the people who have commented on my fics, even if its just a simple 'thank you', so if you find a reply in your inbox to a comment you posted like last month don't surprised :=) I'm still struggling to figure out what button does what, I don't want to accidently delete one of my fics by accident.
> 
> Anyways, here's the next Chapter in Strange Visitor, Critical Mass

******

Alex rubbed at her eyes, it wasn’t even noon yet and she already had eyestrain. She’d been staring at the screen in front of her for the past hour and had cross-referenced the data three times over, and each time it came back the same, which meant that she was right about who Reactron was

“What are you doing?” she jumped and spun around to see Astra standing the doorway, Astra who was staring at her, looking…not mad per se, but not happy either

“Looking for a way to defeat Rractron” she answered honestly, Astra sighed, and Alex still couldn’t figure out if she was angry or not. Like she’d told Kara earlier it was hard to tell what Astra was feeling most times

“I thought I’d made myself clear—”

“When you recruited me,” Alex interrupted “you told me that DEO agents trained for ‘anything, everything’, except ‘everything’ means ‘everyone’, alien and human alike. When I first joined I just saw it all in black and white, aliens bad, humans good, but I can’t separate them like that anymore, not now, not after learning about you, and I’m starting to think that maybe I _shouldn’t_ , that maybe I need to stop looking at the world in black and white and more as shades of grey. Especially when it comes to my little sister” Astra sighed

“Maybe you should,” she said at last as she stepped into the room “who else knows about this?”

“No one” Astra nodded

“Good,” she said “wouldn’t want anyone to get any ideas,” she pulled out the chair that Alex had been sitting in and sat down, propping her feet up on the desk “so, tell me Agent Danvers, how do we stop Reactron when we still have no idea who he is?” she asked, Alex found herself grinning

“I think I might know _exactly_ who he is” she replied

******

“Kara” Alex called out as she walked into the main newsroom at CatCo

“Alex, hey!” Kara greeted as she came over, James and Winn absently following

“Alex, hey,” James greeted, shaking her hand “so, how’s the covert alien hunting business?” he asked softly, Alex felt her face tighten and put her best sarcastic smile

“Not as covert as we’d like” she replied

“Hey, it's OK," James assured her "I can keep a secret" he reminded her

"I know," she replied "and that’s actually why I’m here,” she continued, turning to Kara “I think I might who your…mystery admirer is,” she said vaguely “do you have somewhere we can talk in private?” she asked, Winn grinned

“Do we ever!” he exclaimed, he glanced around suddenly, as if afraid of spies “follow me to the elevators and act natural” he instructed quietly

******

“Winn, where are we going?” Kara asked as they got off the elevator and headed down what looked like a disused hallway (if the bare drywall and rolls of new carpet propped up against the walls were any indicators)

“Your new office” Winn answered 

“Uh, I’m pretty sure that Ms. Grant likes me to be within yelling distance” Kara pointed out

“Oh, no, not for that job," Winn chuckled "this is actually Ed Flahtery’s old office,” he explained as he led the group to a non-descript door at the end of the hall “but ever since poor Ed died of a heart attack behind his desk, no one wants the place…”

“Who _would_?” Alex wondered

“Exactly,” Winn agreed, his head bobbing emphatically “which makes it the perfect place for…,” he opened the door “this” the interior of the office was filled with state of the art computer technology, and nowhere near as impressive as Vasquez’s toys back at the DEO, Alex was pretty certain that, with Winn at the keys, the tech in this room _might_ just be able to give Susan a run for her money “I figured we can't all just crowd around Kara's desk every time we want to discuss Supergirl stuff," Winn explained "so," he spread his arms "I loaded up this place with some state-of-the-art tech" 

“Winn! This is amazing!” Kara exclaimed

“I got to hand it to you,” Alex agreed “this is pretty cool”

“Hey, thanks,” Winn replied "OK,” he pulled out a chair and sat down “so, for our first mission, Supergirl vs. Reactron, so what do we know about this guy?”

“Actually,” Alex said “I think I might know who he is,” she gestured to the computer “Winn, do you mind if I…?”

“No, no, sure,” he got up and held out the chair to her “by all means”

“So,” Alex sat down and began typing “I used the DEO satellite network to scan the highway where you and Reactron fought and I found traces of thorium 232,” Alex explained “it’s the radioactive isotope that Reactron uses in his weapons systems, it can only be found in one place…”

“Bakerline Nuclear Power Station” Kara read as the information came up

“I remember this,” Winn said “terrorists tried to start a full-on meltdown like, like five years ago. But then--”

“…Superman stopped them” James finished, Alex nodded

“Yeah, he prevented the core from going critical, saved millions of people,” she explained “but along with terrorists, two reactor scientists were killed, Ben and Alyssa Krull,” she turned back to the screen and pulled up the only known photo of Ben Krull and his wife “they were a husband and wife team,” she explained “when the core went critical they went inside the reactor to try and shut it down while Superman stopped the terrorists. Now Alyssa’s body was found in the reactor room, but Ben’s body never was, and if we use facial reconstruction on Ben Krull’s image…” she overlaid an image of Reactron’s face over the image of Ben Krull, the points matching up perfectly

“That’s it!” Kara exclaimed “Ben Krull is Reactron!” Alex nodded

“Yeah,” Alex nodded “he somehow survived radiation exposure”

“That’s why he hates my cousin,” Kara realized “he blames him for the death of his wife”

“Yeah, but Superman still managed to prevent an American Chernobyl” James pointed out

“Chernobyl,” Winn muttered, and Alex could practically see the light bulb go up over his head “I think I know how to find him” he turned and began typing

“Kara,” James stood up and went up to her “look, maybe you should call your cousin on this one, I’ve seen what Reactron has done” he pointed out, Kara stared at him, looking shocked that he’d even suggest that 

“If I call him, I’m done,” she said, she gestured to Winn and Alex “we’re done, every criminal out there will see National City as an easy target”

“Kara, he nearly _killed_ Clark last time” James hissed

“Clark?” Winn stopped typing and looked up, Alex cringed and watched as Winn’s eyes widened “Clark, Clark Kent is Superman” he realized, James cleared his throat uncomfortably

“Look,” Kara said “of the things the ‘S’ stands for ‘safety’ is not one of them”

“Clark Kent is Superman!” Winn hissed excitedly, Alex put a hand on his arm

“Winn, breathe” she encouraged

“James,” Kara insisted “I'm still trying to figure out what Supergirl means, but I know that I'm not just 'Superman's cousin', I'm not just some...consolation prize, I'm Supergirl, and Ben Krull is not some…deranged alien, he’s a human being, who’s been hurt enough, and that’s something my cousin never understood, and that’s why, when he shows up next, I’m going to talk to him the way I would want someone to talk to me,” she tilted her head as if listening “ah,” she groaned “Ms. Grant’s calling me” she turned to leave

“Kara," Alex called out "what if Krull doesn’t want to talk?” she wondered, Kara shrugged

“Then…I’ll hit him real hard until he falls down, that always seems to work,” then she turned and hurried out the door,

“I guess stubbornness runs in the family” James muttered

“Yep” Alex agreed

******

_”It’s been twenty four hours since tech billionaire, Maxwell Lord was abducted by the Metropolis-based criminal known as ‘Reactron’, authorities continue to refuse to speculate on whether Mr. Lord is alive or dead, but continue to search the city, and many people are wondering if and when Superman will lend a hand in the search. The Man of Steel fought Reactron several times over the past five years in a series of public brawls that raged across Metropolis, and now many are wondering if the Girl of Steel is up to the task”_ Alex groaned and turned away from the screen

“Don’t tell me that you’re actually _worried_ about _Maxwell Lord’s_ safety?” Vasquez said as she came to stand next to Alex 

“No, not really, I mean I don't want to see anyone die, but, no,” she gestured to the screen with her coffee cup “I’m actually more worried about Kara” she explained, Susan nodded

“You’re afraid that people are taking the fact that she hasn’t rescued Lord and beat the living daylights out of Reactron yet to mean that she’s too scared to take him on” she reasoned

“Yeah,” Alex agreed, she frowned as she watched Susan stuff another handful of Chocos into her mouth “OK. how the hell can you eat so many of those things?" she demanded "they’re so sweet, I'm surprised you don't have more cavities”

“These are my favorite” Susan explained, Alex rolled her eyes

“I know, you eat them three AM”

“So?”

“At three AM only a favorite sank will do,” Alex explained, she shook her head in disbelief “you really don’t look like somebody Superman would send to watch over a Kryptonian general and Fort Rozz escapee when you’re eating those things” she explained

“Meaning what?” Susan asked confused

“Meaning that you don’t look all that dangerous when you’re stuffing your face with Chocos,” Astra said suddenly from behind them, Alex jumped, Susan just shrugged and then nodded politely at Astra and then walked away, still stuffing her face with Chocos “I swear she’s addicted to those things” Astra muttered

“Sure looks like it to me,” Alex agreed, she frowned when Astra cell phone suddenly rang, her personal cell phone, the one that even Alex didn’t have the number to “who has your number?” she wondered, Astra scowled at the phone

“A certain mild-mannered reporter for the _Daily Planet_ ,” she answered as she put the phone up to her ear “hello Clark….what are you talking about?...what do you mean James called you?…why would he…she _what?!_ Is she all right?....no, no that’s fine, Alex is here with me, we’ll meet you there”

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked as Astra hung up

“Kara found Reactron,” she explained “she rescued Lord and then tried to take on Reacrton”

“Is she all right?” Alex asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice

“She’s fine,” Astra assured her “thanks to Superman, he wants to meet us at her apartment” Alex downed the rest of her coffee

“Let’s go”


	20. Meltdowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra find Kara, Astra gets into an argument with Superman, and gets into one with Kara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey a double update of Strange Visitor, cool!

******

Astra didn’t bother driving; instead she led Alex to the roof of the DEO, picked her up, and took off, speeding over to Kara’s apartment so fast that Alex was surprised that she didn’t get windburn. Entering the open window of the Kara’s apartment Alex felt her stomach lurch, firstly from the jerk of Astra stopping suddenly and then from the sight of Kara, pale and unconscious, lying on her couch, her suit singed, the faint smell of something burning heavy in the air, while a concerned-looking James and Winn stood over her

“Astra!” Alex turned and watched as Clark Kent, still in his Superman suit, marched over to Astra “I want to talk to you”

“Then talk, Kal-El” Astra said as she sat down on the coffee table next to James

“I can’t believe you,” Clark exclaimed, he glowered at Alex “either of you, I can’t believe that you would let her do this. She almost died today!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Alex demanded “I _never_ wanted this for her, I never told her to put on that S" she argued, but Clark ignored her and turned his attention to Astra

“You’re supposed to look after her, after both of them,” he insisted “you told me that you wanted to honor Jeremiah’s last request, and what do you do? You recruit Alex into the DEO, you let Kara put herself in danger—” Astra stood up suddenly, her movements quick and fluid, flowing up to her feet like a big cat ready to strike

“Watch what you say, Son of El,” she hissed, getting into Superman’s personal space without fear “you know _nothing_ of me!” she hissed “you didn’t even know Kara _existed_ until twelve years ago!” she snarled “and once you found her, you foisted her off on Jeremiah and his family because you didn’t want the _responsibility_! So don’t _act_ like you suddenly _care!_ ”

“Oh boy,” Winn suddenly exclaimed quietly, clearly looking for a distraction “Superman and General Astra are going to fight, this is terrible…this is awesome!”

“Winn!” Alex said, unable to take her eyes off the two Kryptonians, any further argument between the two was cut off by a buzzing sound. Clark sighed and reached behind him, pulling out a cell phone from the small of his back

“I have to go,” he announced “volcanic eruption in the South Pacific”

“Well then you’d better hurry,” Astra said “up, up, and away, _Superman_ ,” she sneered, with a scowl Clark turned and was gone in a gust of air and a streak of red and blue, leaving the others alone.

Alex got up and tentitivly approached Astra

“Are you all right?” she asked, Astra nodded jerkily

“Self-righteous ass!” she spat

******

Kara remained unconscious for the next few hours, Alex had only left once, hurrying back to find that Winn had left sometime while she was gone, although James and Astra were still there. They were going on hour three when Kara began to twitch

“Kara?” Alex asked Kara suddenly jerked awake “easy,” Alex soothed “easy, you’re OK”

“How long was I out?” Kara asked

“Just a few hours” Alex answered as Astra and James came over

“I…,” Kara ran a hand through her hair, frowning as she tried to put the pieces together “I was fighting Krull…my cousin, where is he?” she sat up suddenly, clearly worried about Clark’s safety

“He had to go,” James said softly “volcanic eruption in the South Pacific” he explained

“Alex” Astra nodded to the TV, which was running a news report on Maxwell Lord’s rescue

 _”Reactron is great danger to everyone in this city,”_ Lord was saying _”luckily, I wasn’t harmed, in fact, I’m lucky to be alive, and it’s all thanks to the great hero that saved me…Superman”_ Alex cringed as she watched Kara’s face fell

“I don’t understand,” Kara sniffled as she shut off the TV “how did he even _know _I was fighting Krul?” she glanced over at Alex and Astra “did…did you call him?” Alex shook her head, while Astra snorted derisively. Kara slowly turned to face James “ _you_ called him” she accused, as shock and anger, and about a dozen other emotions flickered across her face__

“He gave me this a long time ago,” James began, he flipped over the face on his watch, revealing a small microphone/speaker and a small button in the shape of the Crest of El “if I was ever in trouble, I, I could contact him” he explained

“But… _you_ weren’t in trouble,” Kara argued, her shock quickly being replaced by outrage “when did you even call him? The second I left?”

“Kara,” Astra began “James and I both made a promise to your cousin, if anything ever happen—"

“My cousin didn’t have a ‘get out of a jam’ card when he first started. Neither should I,” Kara interrupted “it feels like you don’t believe in me” she accused

“Kara!” Alex admonished as Astra bolted up

“How dare you!” she hissed “I sacrificed _everything_ for you! My relationship with my sister! My very freedom! All of it was done for you! So that you could live! Do you honestly think that if either of us didn’t believe in you that we would even be here?”

“Maybe you two shouldn’t be here at all” Kara said bitterly. With a sigh, James stood up and walked towards the door, he stopped and turned as he put his hand on the doorknob

“You know, Kara,” he began “I’m sorry that you’re mad at me right now, but I’m not sorry that you’re still alive” with that he opened the door and walked out, leaving the three women alone. Kara turned to Astra

“Well, what are you waiting for?” she demanded “you left once, why don’t you—” Alex gasped in surprise as Astra suddenly slapped Kara

“Don’t you _ever_ accuse me of abandoning you ever again,” Astra warned as Kara rubbed her cheek, the red handprint already starting to fade “I never stopped thinking about you, I never stopped worrying about you, even in Fort Rozz, I still worried for you”

“OK,” Alex put herself between the two “let’s all just take a breath” she said as Astra sighed, the slap seeming to have taken the fight out both of them

“It…wasn’t supposed to be like this” Kara moaned

“Like _what_ , Kara?” Astra asked softly “did you honestly think that once you put on that cape and that Crest everything would magically fall into place? That people would instantly accept you the same way? That they wouldn’t have doubts as to whether or not you could face down the same enemies?”

“No, I mean,” Kara began “I’m the one who was supposed to be looking after him, not the other way around. How am I supposed to be a hero if _Superman_ has to keep saving me?” she demanded

“Hey,” Alex soothed “your story, _your story_ is just beginning, and someday, you’ll be saving him” she encouraged

“Kara,” Astra said gently “your mother sent you here to _live_ , not to just look after Kal-El” Kara sighed

“I’m sorry,” she apologized “I didn’t mean to say that”

“I know you didn’t,” Astra said “and I’m sorry as well, I didn’t mean to slap you”

“That hurt,” Kara said, but there was a slight playfully teasing tone in her voice “oh no,” she groaned “Ms. Grant’s party is, like, in fifteen minutes,” she ran a hand through her hair “I don’t have my dress, and…” she trailed off with a sighed

“Yes,” Alex began “I figured you wouldn’t have time to get ready, so I borrowed this from the DEO closet” she held up the dry cleaning bag

“Is that where you disappeared off to?” Astra wondered, Alex nodded

“I know you don’t really need it,” she said, turning back to Kara “but, it _is_ bulletproof” Kara grinned, pulling Alex into a hug

“Best little sister ever!” she took the bag and hurried out of the room. Once they were alone, Alex turned to Astra

“Are you all right?” she asked, Astra smiled bitterly at her

“No,” she said “but…I will be”

“I can’t believe you slapped her” Alex said, amazed “not that she didn’t deserve it right then, but still, it was surprising” Astra nodded

“It was” she said, she smirked suddenly

“What?” Alex asked, Astra chuckled and shook her head

“Doesn’t that just figure?" she asked "James Olsen becomes friendly with Superman and gets a fancy watch, I take over the DEO and look Jeremiah Danvers' daughters and what do I get? Vasquez and her Choco addiction”


	21. Chain Reactions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex finds out more about Astra's past, in more ways then one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, new update for Strange Visitor and the last of this AU version of "Fight or Flight", up next Maxwell Lord as...Maxwell Lord (boo, hiss)

******

“Hey,” Alex looked up from the computer to see Vasquez standing over her “heard about your sister, she doing OK?”

“Yeah, she’s better now” Alex nodded

“I guess we should all be glad that Superman got to her in time back there” Vasquez commented, Alex scoffed

“Not if you talk to Astra”

“What do you mean?” Alex sighed

“When we arrived at Kara’s apartment she, Astra that is, got into this big fight with Superman” she explained

“Not all that surprising, someone they both care about almost got killed” Vasquez pointed out, Alex shook her head

“No, this went beyond just Kara” she said, Vasquez sighed and sat down on the desk

“Well, since Astra’s probably never going to tell you I might as well,” she took a sip of her coffee “you ever hear about ‘Operation Emerald’?” she asked, Alex shook her head

“No, what is it?”

“Operation Emerald was a DEO recovery operation that took place about twelve years ago,” Susan began “back then Superman still helped the DEO out now and then, mostly because I think he was worried about your dad, but anyway, it was in November I think, a meteor crashed down in Mexico, Superman and a team of agents led by Henshaw went out to investigate, I was on the team because they needed me to monitor the satellites, making sure we weren’t about to be crushed by more falling rocks. When we get to the crash site, I can see something glittering in the crater, like an emerald, so Superman and I go down to investigate, and we find this big rock, about the size of a bowling ball, and all of a sudden Superman just… _kneels_ over, he starts heaving, passed out"

“It was kryptonite” Alex realized, Susan nodded

“Henshaw named it that,” she said “he liked the irony,” she explained “anyway, Superman wanted it destroyed, he felt that in the wrong hands it could be dangerous, but Henshaw argued that we needed it to fight against any Kryptonians who escaped from Fort Rozz,” she sighed and stared down at her coffee “about a month later, Henshaw armed himself with kryptonite bullets and led a team into the Pacific Northwest after a Kryptonian escapee”

“Astra” Alex realized, Susan nodded

“Henshaw apparently used them on her before your father stopped him,” she said “when she took over the DEO, I guess Superman hoped that she would destroy it after knowing what it can do”

“But, she didn’t,” Alex realized, Susan nodded “but, I don’t understand,” Alex said, shaking her head in confusion “if Astra knows, firsthand, what kryptonite can do, why _wouldn’t_ she destroy it?”

“Because I won’t be caught defenseless again,” Alex turned to see Astra standing right behind her “because I know, firsthand, the kind of evil the Fort Rozz prisoners are capable of,” she explained, she fixed Alex with a pointed look “ _that’s_ why I didn’t destroy it”

******

“Thank you both for your help” Kara said later that evening, after fighting Reactron a second time and winning, defeating an enemy that even Superman couldn’t

“You’re welcome,” Astra replied drolly, as if thanks weren’t necessary because she would obviously help her niece “but, somehow, I get the uneasy feeling that Reactron isn’t the last non-alien threat you’ll face” she added, leaning back in her chair

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to help her again” Alex pitched in, Astra chuckled, a low and somewhat dangerous sound

“I guess so,” she glanced over at Kara, smirking “so, tell me, what _do_ the infamous Danvers sisters do to celebrate, hmm?”

“’Infamous’ huh?” Alex chuckled

“Very” Astra purred, Kara blushed

“Um, how about potstickers and a movie marathon?” she suggested

“There’s a thought,” Alex agreed “but how ‘bout you first go and see a certain hunky photojournalist with a penchant for tight shirts and who makes you smile like I’ve never seen before?” she suggested, Kara smiled and ducked her head bashfully

“Ah, like that you mean?” Astra teased

“Yeah,” Alex agreed “like that”

 ******

“You know, this is actually good article” Alex stopped in the doorway of her apartment, staring at the Kryptonian sitting on her couch reading the latest edition of CatCo Magazine

“Sure,” she finally said at last “just make yourself at home why don’t you? What’d you do? Pick the lock?” Astra just chuckled and she held up the magazine

“I repeat, this is actually a good article, a tad disdainful to anyone born after the year 2000, but surprisingly well-crafted, Cat Grant does seem to respect Supergirl”

“Yeah, that’s what I told Kara” Alex agreed

“How is she?”

“Good, but…I think she thought you were asking to be invited to a celebration with us” Astra frowned and softly shook her head

“I don’t think I’d be very welcomed”

“You’re wrong,” both women looked up to see Kara gently land on the balcony. She tentatively stepped inside “can I join you?” she asked “or are you guys on a date?” Alex shook her head and beckoned Kara closer, Kara gently sat down opposite Astra “OK, here’s what’s going to happen,” she began “Alex and I are going to watch _Homeland_ and _you_ are going to join us” Astra raised an eyebrow

“Are you _threatening_ me, Kara Zor-El?” she asked, her voice sounding like she was both surprised and delighted at Kara’s confidence

“Yep” Kara nodded emphatically; her head bobbing like it was on a spring

“Well then,” Astra said “I guess I have no choice, seeing as I am your prisoner” Alex couldn’t help it, she threw her head back and laughed

******

Later that night, after Kara had gone home, as they lay in Alex’s darkened bedroom curled around one another, Alex absently fingering that streak of white in Astra’s hair, she asked the question on her mind ever since Vasquez had mentioned Operation Emerald

“The prisoners did something to you in Fort Rozz, didn’t they? Something terrible” Astra shifted and sighed

“Most of the Fort Rozz escapees were put there in the first place by my sister,” she said quietly “what do you _think_ they did to me?” she didn’t need to mention the fact that she and Alura were identical twins, which made the revelation all the more terrible, and in the darkness all Alex could do was hold her tight and try to keep the nightmares at bay


	22. Fireballs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra met Maxwell Lord (boo) and Alex tries to give Kara love life advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Chapter Twenty-two of Strange Visitor, and the first in the AU of "How Does She Do It?" which will hopefully not peter out on me like the AU of "Fight or Flight" did. Anyway, enjoy :=)

******

“Thought I’d return this to you” Kara said a week after her encounter with Reactron, dropping the mangled remains of a drone onto the operations table

“All right…” Astra said slowly, clearly confused

“Come on, I thought we were, you know, in a good place,” Kara exclaimed “people who are in good places don’t spy on each other”

“If I were following you, Ms. Danvers, you would _never_ know about it,” Astra replied, she held up a part of the drone and examined it “ _this_ , is _not_ one of ours” she proclaimed

“Well, is it alien?” Kara asked “Non maybe?” Astra shook her head

“I doubt it, Kryptonian technology is more advanced than this” she said as Alex took the drone from her and turned it over in her hands

“No, this is defiantly from Earth,” she said “but its not DEO or military, or civilian, there’s no markings,” she shook her head, at a loss “I’ve never seen tech like this before”

“Neither have I,” Astra said, taking the fragment back from her “and that’s what worries me”

******

“Hey,” Alex rushed up to her sister “you OK?” Kara nodded

“Yeah, I’m a little sore, especially my shoulders, ow!” she reached up and rubbed her shoulders, wincing “but I’m good” she continued, Alex let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding

“Impressive work out there,” Astra commented as she came over “you were supporting the weight of one hundred twenty pounds per square foot multiplied by five floors. Not bad” she congratulated

“Why would someone plant a bomb in that building?” Kara wondered “what was in there?”

“A lab working on a new non-lithium battery,” Alex explained, skimming through the file “cutting edge technology,” she glanced at Astra “could be industrial espionage; we probably could just let the FBI handle this”

“I wouldn’t advise that, ma’am,” Vasquez came up holding an evidence bag “these are fragments of the bomb, we found the same kind of cutting edge circuitry that was in the drone that chased Supergirl yesterday” she explained

“Are you sure?” Astra asked, Vasquez nodded

“Both the drone and the bomb had an advanced fiber optic relay system that’s not even on the market yet,” she set the bag down and pulled out her ever-present tablet PC “but it was designed and patented by Lord Technologies” she held out the tablet, Maxwell Lord’s smug face staring back at them

“Let’s pay Lord a visit” Astra declared

“How?” Kara wondered “you can’t just… _waltz_ in there as DEO agents,” she frowned “can you?” she asked, Alex found herself grinning

“You right, we can’t,” she held up her ID “and we won’t” she touched the hidden switch, watching as Kara’s eyes widened at the sight of her ID changing into an FBI badge

“OK… _that_ …is cool” she finally said, behind her Astra smirked as she walked out. Kara groaned and rolled her neck, wincing at the pop from her neck “ah, was that me?” Alex nodded

“That’s what a sore muscle feels like” she said, Kara groaned

“I got to get back to work” she sighed as Alex walked her out

“By ‘work’ do you mean ‘James’?”

“Oh no,” Kara said quickly “no, no, no. No, especially not now. His ex showed up, Lucy Lane”

“As in ‘Lois Lane’?”

“Her sister,” Kara waved her hands “she’s gorgeous, smart…smells nice. Hell, I want to date her”

“Well, was she out saving the world?” Alex challenged

“Uh, she’s lawyer for the military, so yes”

“Oh. Well, can she fly?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised” Kara sighed

“Well, if James broke up with her, and then moved all the way out to National City, why would he want to get back to get with her?” Alex wondered

“He told me that she broke up with him” Alex rounded Kara, gripping her by the shoulders

“No, OK, no. Do _not_ talk to James about her,” she ordered “that is a one-way, first-class ticket to the friend zone”

“I’m not in the ‘friend zone’” Kara scoffed

“Yes, you are” Astra said as she passed by

“There see,” Alex said “you aunt agrees,” she sighed “look, just don’t talk to James about Lucy or any of his exes, OK? Not unless you want to be ‘that girl’, the one who wants to help everybody, so you listen to their girlfriend troubles”

“…instead of being the girlfriend” Kara finished, Alex tightened her grip on her shoulders

“Kara, you’ve had to pretend to be someone else for most of your life, but you don’t have to pretend with James, he knows who you are, _and_ he likes you,” she smiled at her sister “besides,” she added “what kind of idiot would choose Lucy Lane over Supergirl?”


	23. Privileged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex has to deal with Maxwell Lord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time for Strange Visitor, chapter twenty-three (yay), and away we go!!

******

Astra looked good in a suit Alex decided once they’d both changed and were on the road heading to Lord Technologies. Actually, Alex decided when they stopped at a red light, Astra looked _too good_ in a suit, because unlike Alex—who had chosen a simple blazer and matching slacks with a nice shirt—Astra had chosen a more professional look, a black blazer with a matching pencil skirt and quarter-inch heels with black nylons, Alex didn’t know if they were stockings or pantyhose but decided that it didn’t matter, what mattered was that Astra was apparently trying to torture her, and it was working

“Something on your mind?” Astra asked as they stopped at a red light

“I was just thinking, the last time we were in a car like this a Hellgermite spoiled the ride” she lied, Astra chuckled

“Well, there are no bugs here, fortunately” she gave Alex a pointed look out of the corner of her eye as the light changed

“I…was actually thinking about…how good your legs look in those,” she stammered, nodding towards Astra’s legs “and about how much I want to take you out on a date, a _real_ date, at a fancy restaurant with snooty French waiters and twenty different forks, about how much I want to see you in a dress” she admitted, Astra nodded slowly as she parked the car in front of Lord Technologies

“Perhaps…,” she began softly, turning to look at Alex with such a tender expression that Alex thought her heart might burst out of her chest “when this is over, you can”

******

“Yes, this is my technology,” Maxwell Lord confirmed a few minutes later once they’d been shown to his office by two _very large_ security guards “where’d you get it?” he asked, dropping the evidence bag on the desk

“It was found in a bomb that was destroyed a lab yesterday morning,” Astra explained “you don’t seem to be too surprised or concerned at that information” she noted when all Lord did was to straighten his shirt cuffs 

“Of course I’m concerned in how my technology ended up in a weapon,” Lord retorted “considering I don’t make them,” Alex had to resist scoffing at _that one_ , Lord Technologies ‘didn’t make weapons’ just like how LuthorCorp had ‘supported’ Superman, both companies said one thing and did the exact opposite, LuthorCorp severed all ties with Lex Luthor once he went on his one-man crusade to kill Superman but didn’t actually do anything to help stop him, Lord Technologies built guidance systems for the military that, officially, were designed for use on jet fighters, but inevitably ended up inside cruse missiles and hunter-killer drones “but I’m not concerned with becoming your prime suspect” Lord continued as he walked away

“And why is that?” Alex wondered

“Because it was my lab that was destroyed,” Lord explained “it was a subsidiary of one my companies. Not that its public knowledge”

“And you didn’t think to share that information?” Astra demanded

“I prefer to not rely on the government to solve my problems” Lord retorted

“Any idea who would be targeting you?” Alex wondered

“I’m trying to change the world, Agent Danvers,” Lord explained boastfully “anyone who wants to uphold the status quo would probably want to kill me”

“Conveniently large suspect pool,” Astra commented “half your ex-girlfriends alone would make up at least half that list” Lord smirked

“Hmm, very good, Agent Inzeli,” he congratulated “not many people have the guts to say things like that to my face”

“I’m not most people”

“OK,” Alex interrupted the verbal sparing match before it could began “we’ll need a list of former employees, anyone who had access to the lab and the skills and expertise to modify the tech, and who has a personal grudge against you” Alex explained, Lord smirked

“Well, now we know who’s the brains of the operations” he commented

“Then, you’ll be glad to hear I’m leaving her here to protect you” Astra commented, Alex gapped at her, Astra wasn’t seriously going to leave her here with this…walking personification of white male privilege was she? She watched as Astra headed out the door without so much as a second glance

Apparently she _was_ leaving Alex with National City’s most famous walking personification of white male privilege. Great.

******

Having to effectively babysit Maxwell Lord was both aggravating and fascinating, say what you would about the man, Maxwell Lord _was_ a genius, his ‘Super Rail’ design was incredible, and if it could actually work, it probably would revolutionize public transit nationwide, if not worldwide.

Not that Alex would actually _say_ that, especially not to his face 

In fact, for the past hour she’d been there the two of them had done nothing more than simply ignore each other, at first Lord had tried to strike up a conversation, asking her if she liked trains, but quickly stopped after it became clear that Alex had no interest in talking to him. Finally after an hour and fifteen minutes, Lord’s assistant/secretary paged him

“Yes, Paulina?” he asked

_”Could you come down to Level Three, sir?”_

******

“Security found it during a routine sweep of the floor” Paulina explained, she stepped back from the large open metal crate sitting on the floor, allowing Alex to see inside, the bomb was large, about the size of a newborn, if not bigger

“Clear the building,” Alex ordered, everybody almost immediately filed out, leaving just Lord and Alex alone in the room “don’t move that! It could go off!” she ordered as Lord bent down and lifted the bomb out of the crate

“That would never happen,” Lord retorted “not with the fulcrum weight of a helium core” he explained as he set the bomb down on a lab bench and turned to grab some tools

“We need to evacuate” Alex ordered

“I’ve got a lab of pretty cool stuff here,” Lord explained “if its all the same to you, I’d like to keep it from going up in smoke”

“Then move over,” Alex ordered, reaching for the bomb “I’m not going to let your bravado blow us both up”

“This lunatic is trying to blow me up with my own technology,” Lord brushed her hands away “while appreciate the irony, I’m not going to give him the satisfaction,” he grabbed a set of wire cutters “relax, I know which wire to cut, not a problem,” he snipped one wire and the timer stopped counting down. Alex breathed a sigh of relief, there was a fizzle and the timer suddenly started counting down again, faster than before “we might have a problem” Lord muttered


	24. Daisy Cutters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra have to deal with almost losing Kara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Don't worry folks, I'm still working on Part Six of What we are

******

“We need to get out of here!” Alex ordered less than a minute after she’d called Kara

“I can delay the detonation by freezing the circuitry” Lord muttered as he riffled through a shelf of lab chemicals

“There isn’t any time!” there was a woosh and Kara suddenly landed in the middle of the room, Alex breathed a sigh of relief “Supergirl, thank god you’re here” she muttered

“No problem, plenty of time left” Kara said confidently as Lord picked up the bomb and handed it to her

“This bomb is basically a high tech daisy cutter,” he explained “if it blows it’ll release an overpressure of two hundred pounds per square inch”

“That’s enough to level thirty square blocks,” Alex pitched in “you need to get it clear of the city” Kara nodded as she took the bomb and flew out of the building at nearly top speed. Watching her go, Alex could only hope that this wasn’t the last time she saw her sister, because Kara was overconfident, she thought she could survive anything, but a bomb capable of leveling thirty square blocks? Alex didn’t if even Kara could survive that.

******

“Report!” Astra barked out as Command began buzzing with activity

“Agent Danvers called in a bomb at Lord Technologies,” Vasquez reported “attempts to disarm it failed, Supergirl arrived and is trying to get the bomb clear of the city right now”

“Where is Supergirl now?” Astra demanded

“She’s nearing the ocean, approaching Mach Two” Vasquez reported

“She’s not far enough away from the city,” Astra grumbled as she watched the radar, she tapped her comm. “Supergirl, change bearing” she ordered

_”Which way?”_

“Up!” Astra ordered, watching on the radar screen as Kara shot straight up “that’s it! Throw the bomb!”

_“Not yet, I need to get higher!”_

“You’re high enough! Throw it!!”

_”Not yet!”_

“You’re out of time! Damn it, Kara! Throw it! Now!” there was a sudden roar over the comm. then a crackle of static, then an eerie silence “Vasquez?” Astra asked quietly, Susan nodded

“Her tracker’s still live, satellite imaging shows her in the water just off the coast, not moving, rescue team’s already en route” she explained, Astra nodded shakily. Listening in on all of this over her own comm. Alex could only hold her breath and pray, pray that Kara was all right, pray that she had survived

******

Alex ran through the halls of the DEO, careless about what she looked like, about what others might think about her in this moment, all that mattered was Kara. She skidded to a stop in front of the iso lab as Vasquez blocked her path; the other woman gripped her shoulders tightly

“Breathe!” she ordered, Alex shakily sucked in a breath, Susan nodded “the rescue team just brought her in; she’s unconscious, but otherwise fine”

“Oh, thank god” Vasquez nodded

“Astra’s with her right now,” she explained “you can go in if you want” slowly nodding, Alex stepped past Vasquez and hovered in the doorway. Kara was dripping wet as she lay under the sunlamps, Astra was sitting on a stool next to the sunbed. She looked up at Alex and gestured for her to come in

“How’s she doing?” she asked as she sank down into a stool next to Astra, Astra reached out, tenderly brushing a lock of damp hair away from Kara’s face

“Wonderfully,” she whispered “annoyingly, aggravatingly, terrifyingly, wonderful,” Kara slowly began to twitch, her eyelids fluttering as Susan came to stand on the other side of the bed, and maybe it was a trick of the light, but Alex could have _sworn_ she saw Vasquez’s eyes glow red for a second before Kara suddenly sucked in a gulp of air and jerked awake “easy,” Astra put a hand on Kara’s shoulder “easy, you’re all right, you’re back at the DEO,” she explained “that was some fall you took” she remarked

“The bomb?” Kara groaned out as she slowly sat up, Astra nodded

“Detonated a thousand feet up over open water, no casualties whatsoever,” she explained, she nodded to Alex “now, hug your sister, she’s been worried” Kara didn’t even have a chance to do that, as Alex pushed Astra aside and pulled her sister into a bear hug

“I was so scared” she admitted, Kara grinned as she pulled back

“Relax, Alex,” Susan said “if we’d let her drown I’d never hear the end of it from you and her,” she nodded to Astra “whenever you’re ready we found some information about the bomber” she nodded politely at Astra and then left the room, leaving the three woman alone to reconnect and rejoice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you interested to know a 'daisy cutter' is a type of bomb which is designed to explode out, the idea goes as far back as 1918 during the First World War, but the term 'daisy cutter fuse'/'daisy cutter bomb' goes back to the Vietnam War. Because of the thick jungles, helicopters and cargo planes couldn't land to deliver supplies, so the solution was to simply get rid of the jungle, planes would fly over the trees and drop these bombs over the canopy below, the resulting clearing that was created after dozens of trees were obliterated was said to look like a daisy, hence the name, the U.S. also used them against people too, sadly, dropping them to destroy warehouses and VC troops, they have since been used in Iraqi and Afghanistan. OK history of war over


	25. Decoys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra and Alex find out who the bomber is, Alex worries about Kara spreading herself too thin, then gets a surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, an update to Strange Visitor, cool! I'm still working on Part Six of What we are, so don't worry :=)

******

“Security camera at Lord Technologies caught an image of the bomber,” Vasquez explained once the three women came out into Command “facial recognition came up with a match” she added, pulling up a Lord Technologies personnel file

“Meet Ethan Knox,” Astra identified “he worked at the lab that was attacked until a little over a year ago, when he was fired after his work became erratic, after that his marriage broke down and his wife got sole custody of their daughter,” she explained “six weeks ago the daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, which was the same time that Knox suddenly disappeared, his ex-wife and family haven’t seen him since then”

“And now he’s looking for someone to blame” Alex reasoned

“So it would seem” Astra nodded

“So how do we find him?” Kara asked

“’We’?” Alex echoed “oh, no, absolutely not, a fall from that height would have rattled your cousin, _you_ are staying home” she ordered

“There is a _literal_ mad bomber out there,” Kara exclaimed, she groaned “and I have to get back to work. Oh my god, Ms. Grant’s son, I’m supposed to be babysitting him, and--”

“Kara!” Alex firmly gripped her sister by the shoulders “maybe you’re spreading yourself too thin, OK? You’re trying to be Supergirl, and Cat’s assistant, and a DEO agent all at the same, and at some point, even a ‘Girl of Steel’ is going to break” she advised

As she watched Kara go, Alex couldn’t help but wonder if Kara would actually take her advice. She glanced over at Astra, seeing the same worry she felt mirrored in the other woman’s eyes

******

“So, how did Mr. Lord take your offer for protection?” Astra asked as Alex stormed back into the DEO an hour later

“Ass!” Alex spat out as she stormed by

“I guess it didn’t go well” Susan commented, Astra nodded

“Any word on the train launch?” she asked, Vasquez nodded

“We have agents stationed around the entire perimeter, I, uh, ‘commandeered’ the station’s security cameras, still no sign of Knox” Susan explained

“Sounds like you could use some help” the three women turned to see Kara standing there in full costume

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Astra asked

“Someone has to protect that train,” Kara explained “and besides, once it gets moving the DEO won’t be able to keep up” Astra glanced at Alex and turned back to Kara and slowly nodded

“All right”

******

_“I’m scanning the train. I don’t see a bomb”_ Kara reported fifteen minutes later as she floated over the train. Back at the DEO Alex ground her teeth, the train was due to launch any second, Knox _had_ to be there

“Director Inzeli!” Vasquez suddenly called out “report just came in from NCPD, bomb found at the airport, Lord Air Terminal”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Alex said “the _train_ is Max’s obsession”

“Unless it’s a distraction to draw us away from the real bomb,” Astra reasoned, she tapped her comm. “Supergirl, get over to the Lord Air Terminal at National City Airport”

 _”I’m on it!”_ Kara said

 _"Kara, where are you?”_ Winn’s voice suddenly asked over Kara’s comm.

 _“Can’t talk now, Winn, there’s a bomb at the airport”_ Kara replied

 _“No, no, that’s not right, I just saw the bomber on the train”_ Winn explained

 _“That means there’s two bombs?”_ Kara demanded 

_”It’s worse than that,”_ Winn explained _“_ Carter _is on the train”_

 _“Alex did you all hear that?”_ Kara asked

“We did,” Alex replied “what do you want to do?”

 _”I can’t be in two places at once”_ Kara exclaimed desperately

“We have a visual confirmation of the bomb at the airport,” Astra explained “we can’t even be sure if what your friend saw was accurate”

 _”I trust him,”_ Kara growled out _”just like I trust you. New plan, you take the airport, I’ll take the train”_

******

By the time the fleet of SUVs pulled up outside Lord Air Terminal, the airport was in total and utter chaos; people didn’t so much as evacuate the terminal as run from it like a swarm of ants, it was complete pandemonium, and Alex was about to jump head first into the deep end of the pool 

“Get a team inside to help with the evac!” Astra ordered as they jumped out of the SUV

“Right, then I’ll meet you and Vasquez at the bomb” Alex said as they rushed inside

“Where’s Supegirl?” James Olsen demanded as they passed, and Alex briefly wondered what he was doing there

“She’s not coming” Astra said

******

“Clear the room!” Astra ordered as they charged into the room

“Bomb squad’s not here yet” Alex said as Vasquez ran a scanner over the bomb, the same design as the one at Lord Tech

“Signal’s jammed” Vasquez announced, Alex looked up at Astra who shook her head

“It’s lined with lead” she explained

“Great, how do we disarm a bomb we can’t even see inside of?” Alex demanded, for a moment the three women stared at the bomb as it continued to count down

“Get yourselves out of here” Vasquez said suddenly, the other two stared at her

“What are you—Susan, no!” Alex exclaimed

“I can do it” Astra insisted

“And what happens if this things goes off and you walk away without a scratch after a building falls on you?” Susan asked, she shook her head “no, go on, get of out here”

“No” Alex insisted, she stared at Susan, who had always been friendly towards her, finding out that Susan had known her father had only strengthened their friendship, bringing them closer than just ‘office friends’ to an actual budding friendship, Susan was the only person who Alex could talk to about Astra aside from Kara

“She’s right, Alex,” Astra said softly “let’s go” she grabbed Alex’s arm, pulling her towards the door and ushering her out of the building towards the safe zone

“She’s not going to make it, is she?” Alex asked as they crouched down behind the barrier, Astra just shook her head

“Just take cover” she ordered, the seconds ticked down, and then…then Vasquez emerged, safe and sound. The crowd erupted into cheers, and Alex took a breath, relieved that Susan had survived, but also confused

“How did you--?” she asked

“It was a dud,” Susan explained as she passed off the bomb to another agent “a decoy to draw us away from the real bomb” Alex nodded, but as she watched Susan head back to the fleet of SUV Alex couldn’t help but frown, why would Ethan Knox go to all the trouble of making such a sophisticated dummy?

******

Hours later, after Ethan Knox had died, after Kara had fled in a panic, certain that she was headed straight to the unemployment line, and Alex was still puzzling over the bomb. The bomb had a failsafe, why would a bomber who had gone to such lengths to prevent the bomb from being disarmed bother with a failsafe, for that matter why build a failsafe into a dummy bomb, a failsafe that _hadn’t_ been triggered? Unless it wasn’t a dud, but if it wasn’t a dud then how did Susan disarm it? She hadn’t had the tools necessary, the bomb’s casing had still been sealed tight when it was brought back to the DEO, even the welds were still there, and if Susan had disarmed it, somehow, without opening it, then why did she lie about it being a dud?

******

Alex took a breath as she approached Vasquez

“Susan?” she asked, Vasquez looked up “can we talk?” the other woman nodded

“Sure”

“In private?” Vasquez frowned but nodded, getting up a leading the way towards one of the empty cells. When Alex got into the room, Susan was sitting down on the edge of the cell itself, head bowed, looking as if a sudden and heavy weight was pressing down on her, there was a…sadness to her pose, an aching, raw kind of sadness, like grief only magnified a thousand fold, the kind of grief that Alex had only seen in Kara and Astra

“You’re wondering how I disarmed a bomb without opening it, and then why I lied about it being a dud,” Susan began as Alex walked in, Alex nodded as Susan sighed and looked up at her “there’s only two other living people who know the truth, are you sure you want to do this? Because if you do, you can’t tell anyone, not even your sister, you sure you can do that?” Alex nodded

“Astra knows I take it?” she asked, Susan chuckled

“Yes, she knows,” she confirmed “that was one of Superman’s....terms, as it were, for helping her to take over the DEO, he wanted her to know _exactly_ who was watching her” she explained, then sighed and seemed to gather her thoughts “firstly, I am _not_ Susan Vasquez,” she began “Susan Vasquez doesn’t exist, she’s just a, a…fabrication, an identity I took when Superman asked me to join the DEO to look after your father,” she explained “in truth, I’m…a refugee. Like your sister, like Astra. Sole survivor of a dead world”

“So…you’re…an alien?” Alex asked, Susan nodded “so…if ‘Susan Vasquez’ is just a fake ID, then…who are you?”

“I am shapeshifter,” Susan answered as she slowly stood up “the last of my kind, sole survivor of my race,” she explained, she turned to Alex, her eyes suddenly glowing with a bright, almost demonic, red light “the Last Son of Mars,” a strange, fiery haze surrounded her, and she suddenly _changed_ , the being that now stood in front of Alex was at least seven feet tall with bright green skin, a sloping, elongated head, and gleaming red eyes

 ** _”My name,”_** the being suddenly proclaimed a deep, reverberating voice **_”…is J’onn J’onzz”_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to have J'onn's reveal in Strange Visitor's version of "Human For A Day" until I realized that with Astra there, she could just pound Jemm into pulp


	26. Safe Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra have an intimate moment and think back on everything that's happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha, a double update, a **short** double update, but still a double update

******

Alex didn’t even twitch at the sudden gust of air that blew through her apartment, she barely looked up when she saw Astra standing there, frowning at her

“You seem…troubled” Astra noted, Alex shook her head

“No, just…overwhelmed” she explained

“Ah, yes, I heard you met J’onn J’onzz today” Astra said as she sat down next to the younger woman

“It’s not just that,” Alex began “it’s… _everything_ , Maxwell Lord may have actually planned these bombings as some kind of demented test for Kara, Kara almost _died_ today, but still thinks she’s indestructible, one my coworkers is a _Martian_ , Non is still out there, planning god knows what” she stopped when Astra gently placed a kiss against her lips

“Think nothing more of it,” she instructed “Kara is safe and well, and still employed I might add, J’onn would never harm you or want you to treat him any differently than how you treated him as ‘Susan Vasquez’, and as for Maxwell Lord, well, we have no direct evidence to any wrongdoing on his part, the only witness blew up with part of his precious train, so all we can do in that regard is wait and see what his next move it, the same with Non,” she leaned in and kissed Alex “so, put it out of your mind for now,” she instructed “think of this, here with me, as a safe zone, as a place where you can just….let go” Alex sighed as she leaned into Astra’s arms, feeling safe and protected, nothing could harm her while she was here in Astra's arms

“Thanks” she mumbled as she buried her face in Astra's hair, breathing in the rich, earthy scent of the Kryptonian, Astra placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head

“Sleep,” she instructed softly “I’ll be here when you wake”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This could have easily been attached to the last chapter I know, but it felt better as its own separate chapter, despite being so short. Happy Thanksgiving folks!!


	27. Livewires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza arrives for Thanksgiving, forcing Alex to make a few confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE TIME FOR STRANGE VISITOR, gah, this one was a bear to write, i even considered skipping it entirely, mostly because I didn't like how Eliza was portrayed, I never got that she was disappointed in Alex ever, but oh well, here we go, "Red-Faced" is up next, hopefully that'll be better.
> 
> Also, I'm going to keep referring to J'onn as 'Susan', 'Vasquez', and 'her', 'she', because I'm going under the idea, that being a race of shapeshifters, Martians probably don't think of gender in the same way we do

******

Alex dodged the next punch, swinging out with her arm. Her opponent ducked, spun around, and then had Alex pinned to the wall, a hand at her throat. She watched her opponent shift, change, a fiery orange haze of light surrounding Susan Vasquez as ‘she’ changed into J’onn J’onzz

“OK! OK!” Alex slapped at the hand at her throat, J’onn immediately let go and changed back into Susan Vasquez

“As effective as punching and kicking is, the next time you want to vent your anger just buy me coffee” she warned

“My mother’s in town for Thanksgiving” Alex panted out

“Go on”

“And…I’m waiting for her to… _blow up_ at me for letting Kara come out as Supergirl”

“Why would your mother be mad at you for something your sister did?” Susan asked “that makes absolutely no sense” Alex chuckled

“Oh, you don’t know my mother,” she winced as she stood up “last year she got mad at me because Kara wasn’t dating enough” she explained, Susan shook her head

“So, she’s concerned for Kara, like any mother would” she pointed out

“Yeah, well know Kara wants me to tell her about my job here at the DEO” Susan’s eyebrows rose

“Oh boy” Alex nodded

“She thinks it might make my Mom feel better about knowing that Kara’s out there everyday risking her life”

“Sounds reasonable, although grounds for federal imprisonment” Susan added, Alex nodded

“ _And_ she wants to invite Astra to Thanksgiving dinner too” she added

“Sucks to be you,” Susan muttered “have you talked to Astra about that last one?” Alex shook her head

“No, because I know she’ll just say no”

“You don’t know that,” Susan countered “she’s _trying_ Alex, she wants this relationship of yours to work, and if that means meeting your mother...” she trailed off, not needing to finish the sentence

“How do you know?” Alex challenged “are you a mind reader?”

“Yes. Although Kryptonians are immune to my telepathy, which Superman finds _hilarious_ for some reason” Alex felt her eyes bug out as she stared at the other woman—Martian, she corrected—standing in front of her

“You can read minds?” she asked “you can read minds,” she echoed as the puzzle pieces fell into place “ _that’s_ how you knew about Astra and me! You read our minds”

“ _No_ , I read _your_ mind,” Susan explained “by the way, that fantasy with the ice cubes was very imaginative,” Alex felt her face heat up while Susan chuckled “all kidding aside, Alex, just talk to Astra, you might be surprised at her reaction”

******

“Dinner sounds lovely, what time should I be there?”

“I—you—what?” Alex had a whole speech planned, a point by point rundown on why Astra could and should join her and Kara for Thanksgiving dinner, she had _not_ expected the Kryptonian to give in so easily “you mean it?” she finally asked, Astra nodded

“As long as we’re clear that I’m coming as your date and _not_ as Kara’s aunt or as the director of the DEO”

“Of course not” Alex dismissed

******

Dinner was going…well, as well as could be expected anyway. Eliza kept giving Astra suspicious looks, clearly wondering about Alex’s mysterious date, who had only introduced herself as ‘Astra Inzeli’ and had then swiftly dodged any other attempts to pry anymore information out of her. Winn was oblivious of course to all of this and happily chatted with Kara about something at work that Alex only listened to with half an ear

“So…Astra,” Eliza began “you haven’t said much so far”

“I don’t have much to say” Astra replied smoothly, taking a sip from her tea, Alex nodded to herself as she poured some more wine for herself

“You’re having fun, Alex,” Eliza noted dryly “let’s get some food into you”

“Hey, yeah,” Winn pitched in “this all looks great, Eliza” he complimented

“It does,” Astra agreed, reaching for a plate "espically the pie" she added

“Hmm, that's the best pie in the galaxy, apparently” Alex muttered, taking another gulp of wine as she scowled at Kara, if she could just get through this dinner without having an argument with her mom she'd be golden

“All right, you’ve had enough,” Astra reached out and plucked her glass away “refilling one glass over and over does not count as ‘one glass’” she explained as she got up and took both the glass and the bottle to the kitchen

“Thank you, Astra.” Eliza said when she came back and sat down “it’s nice to see that _someone’s_ looking out for Alex’s well-being,” she sent Alex her best ‘mom’ look, Alex wanted that bottle back now more than ever “so, tell me, Astra, how did you and Alex meet?” she asked

“I work in the same lab as her” Astra answered evenly

“So, you’re a scientist too?” Winn asked incredulously. He of course knew what Astra’s real job was

“Actually ‘scientist’ is a general term, dear,” Eliza pitched in “I’m a bioengineer, Alex is in the same field, so I guess that being a lab rat runs in the family”

“Mom, there’s something I have to tell you” Alex said

“OK” Eliza said slowly, Alex took a breath

“When I was at Stanford, my research in genetic engineering, and my connection to Kara, it came under scrutiny, and I was recruited by the government,” she took a breath and risked a glance at Astra who looked totally indifferent “I’m not just a doctor, I’m…I’m an operative for an organization called the ‘DEO’, we monitor alien life here on earth, I work in the field with Kara, I, I look out for her, I mean that is my job, Mom, I look out for her” Eliza slowly stood up

“Are you out of your mind?” she demanded “how could you do this, Alexandra?”

“How could I do _what_ , Mom?” Alex demanded, standing up herself “devote my entire life to looking out for Kara? Well, I don’t know, maybe because it’s what you told me what to do since I was _fourteen_ years old”

“You lied to me for years” Eliza retorted

“Is _that_ what you got from all of this?” Alex demanded “so, Kara puts on that cape and goes out and helps people and she’s a hero, and I do that same thing and I’m in trouble. You know, that is just…perfect” she scowled and glanced over at Astra who was watching all of this with an air of mildly interested indifference. For a moment no one spoke, and then Kara’s cell phone buzzed

“Oh, Ms. Grant has an emergency at work” she sighed

“Maybe we should go and see if she needs some help” Winn suggested, getting up, with two quick and awkward goodbyes he and Kara quickly slipped out the door, leaving Alex and Eliza to stare each other down

“Do you think your father would be proud of you?” Eliza demanded almost as soon as the door shut

“I think he would” the women turned to Astra who was still sitting in her chair, looking as impeccable as ever, and completely unsurprised by Alex’s confession, Eliza frowned at her

“You said you worked with her,” she murmured “you work for the DEO don't you?” she whispered, her voice almost fearful, Astra chuckled

“I _am_ the DEO, Dr. Danvers,” she explained “I took over the DEO after Hank Henshaw died” Eliza frowned 

“Hank Henshaw….is…dead?” she asked, looking both shocked and relived at the same time, Astra nodded slowly

“He died…the same night as your husband, he died saving my life,” she explained “the DEO had been tracking an alien for months, with Jeremiah’s help they found it in the Pacific Northwest”

“Jeremiah would never take part in something like that” Eliza countered, and Alex was amazed she wasn’t trying to strangle Astra after learning that she was the head of the DEO who was also dating her daughter

“You’re right, he wouldn’t,” Astra replied “because he found out that the alien they were tracking wasn’t a threat, she was a refugee, like Kara, but…Henshaw was…obsessed, determined to kill what he saw as a ‘thing’, a 'monster', so…Jeremiah made the ultimate sacrifice”

“That alien…,” Eliza began softly “…was that…you?” Astra nodded slowly

“My name is Astra In-Ze,” she said, she reached into her jacket, pulling out the worn snapshot that Jeremiah had given her all those years ago “Jeremiah gave me this just before he died, he made me promise that I would look after his daughters,” she nodded towards Alex “I recruited her, to protect her, to keep her safe, to keep my niece safe”

“Your niece?” Eliza echoed, she glanced at the snapshot and then at Kara and then back at Astra “you’re…Kara’s _aunt_ ” she realized, Astra nodded

“Yes,” she answered “falling for Alex wasn’t exactly part of the plan” she confessed

“No, I wouldn’t think so,” Eliza murmured, she looked up at Alex “did you know?” she asked, Alex sighed

“Not at first, no,” she began “it was only after we started…dating, that I found out who she was” she explained

“I guess, the DEO really has changed if they allowed an alien to take over” Eliza muttered, Astra chuckled

“Who says they know I’m an alien?” she pointed out, there was a sudden clap of thunder from the storm outside and the lights suddenly went out, and any further conversation was put on hold as the three women scrambled around looking for and lighting any candles they found

“I suppose it’s fortunate that Kara likes these scented candles so much” Astra muttered as she lit the last candle, bathing the room in a soft glow, Alex sneezed

“I _hate_ these things,” she muttered, wrinkling her nose at the various scents now permeating the air, she frowned as she peered out the window “looks like there are blackouts all over the city” she announced

“A blackout I can handle,” Eliza sighed “you, on the other hand…” she trailed off

“Mom…please,” Alex sighed, the fight draining out of her “I…can’t fight anymore tonight”

“Please come, come here,” Eliza said softly, nodding to the couch, once Alex sat, Eliza took her hands “I’m so sorry for what I said about your Dad,” she began “that was unfair, especially in light of…recent events,” she frowned at Astra, who nodded politely and disappeared somewhere into the bedroom to give the two some privacy “you always the make the hard choice,” Eliza continued “you look out for others before yourself”

“That’s what you taught me to do,” Alex replied “so…why hasn’t it ever been enough?” she asked softly, trying to keep the tears at bay

“If, if you mean why I was so tough on you,” Eliza began “Kara was little girl who lost her planet, who lost everything, I couldn’t do anything _but_ love her,” she explained “but, you’re my daughter, Alex,” she closed her eyes and sighed “I wanted you to be _better_ than me,” she explained “but,” she reached out and wiped a tear from Alex’s cheek “that doesn’t mean I don’t love you,” she reached out and cupped Alex’s face “you have always been my Supergirl” she whispered, pulling her into a firm embrace

“I’m sorry too,” Alex began “for keeping things from you, for keeping, _Astra_ from you,” she scowled as her phone rang “Danvers…twenty minutes,” she hung up, glancing up to see Astra walking out of the bedroom, clearly having gotten the same call “we have to go in” Alex explained

“Is it about Kara?” Eliza asked

“We can’t tell you, Doctor, I’m sorry” Astra answered, Eliza shook her head

“Take care of Kara,” she said, she shook her head “take care of yourselves” she added

“We will” Astra said

******

“So, how did dinner go?” Susan asked the next day, after Livewire had been defeated and locked up, after Astra had somewhat sarcastically congratulated Kara on the DEO’s first non-alien prisoner

“Great,” Alex muttered “I told my mom I work for the DEO and Astra told her who she really is, and what really happened to my father”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Susan wondered “I mean, your mother should be happy knowing that someone’s looking out for you and Kara” she pointed out

“I suppose,” Alex sighed “I guess I’ve gotten used to waiting for Mom to finally blow up at me, and I don’t think she’s too pleased with my dating my boss”

“Hmm,” Susan muttered as she grabbed a towel from her locker “she’ll get over it”

“Hey, can I ask you a question?”

“You can ask, doesn’t mean I’ll answer”

“You said you’re from Mars,” Alex began “so, how do you survive in our environment? It is because when you change form you actually change your DNA? I mean are you _actually_ a woman right now? Or do you just look like one?”

“Alex,” Susan sighed “one question, OK? Save the rest for another day” Alex chuckled

“How many of your people are out there?” Alex instantly regretted asking that question as soon as it left her mouth, she watched as Susan stiffened, watched that same cloud of grief and anguish suddenly loom over her

“I’m the last of my people” she finally answered, with that she shut her locker and walked out, leaving Alex regretting ever asking that question


	28. Red Faced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara develops anger issues and General Lane shows up. AU of "Red Faced"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Today on Strange Visitor...more General Danvers!! We now return you to normal programing :=)

******

_“Supergirl scares a group of schoolchildren, it seems that superpowers and road rage don’t mix...”_ the newscaster continued on as Astra glowered at the monitors

“Road rage,” she hissed as she turned and scowled at Kara as the younger woman came in “what were you _thinking_?” she demanded

“They were about to run over an entire soccer team,” Kara dismissed “why is always _men_ who get crazy behind the wheel?” she wondered

“You _cannot_ lose control like that” Astra insisted

“Those two idiots nearly killed people and you’re getting mad at _me_?” Kara demanded, Astra shook her head

“That’s the thing, I am not mad, I’m controlling my anger. You should get into the habit,” she sighed “your sister once told you that people are afraid of your cousin, it’s not because he has god-like powers, it’s because people are afraid of what he could _do_ to them if he ever lost his temper” she explained

“Ma’am?” Vasquez walked up, she frowned and glanced between the two women “you, you just might want to take a look at this” she held out the tablet to the two of them, apparently deciding that they both needed to see it

 _“I’m just glad these two men are in the hospital, and not the morgue,”_ Maxwell Lord was saying _“people are so worried about police brutality, maybe we should put a bodycam on Supergirl”_ he added

“Wonderful” Astra snarled as she stalked off

******

“Hey,” Alex waved as she came up to Kara at the counter at Noonan’s “did I…just see James leaving?” she asked, Kara nodded, way too quickly to be normal

“Yep!”

“What’s wrong?” Alex sighed “ _besides_ the road rage incident today” she added as Kara scowled

“James invited Lucy to game night tonight” Kara mumbled

“Did he ask you about it?” Alex wondered “Kara! If you don’t want her there than just _say so!_ ” she rolled her eyes

“Could you come tonight?” Kara asked “please? Winn will be there too, I just need a buffer between those two” Alex rolled her eyes again

“Fine! But you need to ask James out at some point, like tonight,” she sighed as her cell phone chimed “text from Astra” Kara nodded as she pulled out her own phone

“Yep, me too”

******

**D.E.O. base camp**

Alex frowned as she stood there in the desert sun with Kara, Astra, and a handful of DEO agents, watching a small convoy of Army vehicles pull up. Two soldiers climbed out of the hummvee, one in full dress uniform, Alex felt her blood pressure go up a notch as she recognized him, she’d never worked with him personally, but she knew how General Samuel Lane felt about aliens

“Director Inzeli” he acknowledged as he stopped in front of their little group, and there was something in his tone, a slight hint of disapproval, like he felt that Astra didn't deserve the job, Alex felt a bit of smugness well up inside her, if he only knew who Astra _really_ was...

“General Lane,” Astra nodded back politely “what can the DEO do for Army intelligence?”

“I need you to approve an immediate personnel transfer,” Lane explained “a member of your field unit to my command” Astra's eyebrow rose

“Really? And who would that be?” she wondered, Lane nodded towards Kara

“The lady in red” he answered

“Technically, Supergirl doesn’t work for the DEO” Alex felt obliged to point out that little fact

“If it were up to me, no one would,” Lane stated, he turned back at Astra “your covert operations could be effectively handled by my special forces, and without,” he glanced at Kara “… _foreign_ assistance”

“Why do you need me?” Kara spoke up

“We’ve been developing something, an anti-insurgent device, project codenamed ‘RT’, I need her help testing it” Lane explained, speaking to Astra instead of Kara, as if Kara was a non-entity, which considering what Alex knew about Lane's feelings on aliens, she might as well be

“She has no choice,” Alex looked up as a young woman in an Army dress uniform marched over, she held up a large envelop “we have an Executive Order forcing you to comply”

“My legal attaché, and daughter, Major Lane,” General Lane introduced as the woman who Alex now knew to be Lucy Lane handed the envelope to Astra before crossing her arms and staring Kara down, clearly thinking Kara wasn’t all that impressive “it’s signed by the President. You can take it up with her if you like” Lane explained as Astra tore open the envelope and scanned the paper inside

“Unless you don’t think you’re up to it” Lucy challenged

“I’ll do it” Kara said quickly, too quickly, Alex realized, she was letting her jealousy of Lucy and her feelings for James dictate her actions, she was so determined to prove that she was ‘better’ than Lucy that she was going to do something reckless Alex knew

“Supergirl, you don’t have to do this” she said

“I agree with Agent Danvers,” Astra piped up, she stuffed the paper back into the envelope and held it out to General Lane “you could’ve just said ‘please’” she pointed out

“What do you need me to do?” Kara asked, Lane finally deigned to look at her

“Fight my robot” he answered

“It’s not a robot,” a new voice said, they all turned to see a rather scrawny-looking fellow supervising the unloading of a large crate from the truck “it’s an anthropomorphic pseudo entity with combat capabilities” he explained

“I stand corrected, Doctor,” Lane drawled “Director Inzeli, Dr. T.O. Marrow, designer of Project RT” he introduced as the crate opened, revealing something that looked less like the R2-D2-like robot that Alex had envisioned and more like Iron Man. Dr. Marrow tapped the control pad in his hand

“I call it…’Red Tornado’” he explained as the robot activated, and Alex suddenly got a sinking feeling in her gut as she watched the robot’s glowing gold eyes light up. there was something...sinister in the way it looked at them, like there was actually... _somebody_ looking out at the world from behind those eyes. Glancing over at Astra she saw that Astra was just as worried as she was


	29. Game Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Game night rolls around and Alex gets a surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!

******

“So, apparently, I’m fighting a robot tomorrow” Kara piped up as Winn and Alex walked into her apartment, Alex had never been to game night before, not that Kara hadn’t invited her, but she was just never in the mood or had the time. Of course most those times that Kara had invited her Alex had been doing… _things_ with Astra

“Robot?” Winn repeated, already starting to geek out “wait, wha, what kind of robot we talking about? Like a C3PO? Terminator? Roomba?”

“Military” Alex pitched in; she wondered when she got comfortable enough with Winn to talk about top-secret information

“Wait, you guys testing out a new toy?” he asked, Alex shook her head as she helped herself to some soda from Kara’s fridge

“The Army is actually,” she explained “General Lane’s orders, even Lucy was there”

“Whoa, wait, she didn’t recognize Kara, did she?” Winn asked, Alex shook her head “wait, did we come here for nothing? Does the robot fight mean that game night’s cancelled?”

“No!” Kara insisted “game night is the, the last _bastion_ of normalcy in our crime-fighting-DEO-alien-hunting-lives,” she said “game night is still on,” she declared as busied herself with the snacks, most of which she’d end up eating herself “now we just have to wait for James and Lucy and then we can start”

“You invited Lucy?” Winn asked

“He asked,” Kara explained “it’ll be fun!” she said as she went back into the kitchen to grab more snacks. Winn glanced at Alex, looking doubtful

“It will not be fun” he said, Alex shook her head

“Nope”

******

As it turned out, game night was a lot of fun. For James and Lucy, that is. They clobbered Kara and Winn at charades and had just scored eleven points and were now cuddling up on the couch together, looking so ‘perfect’ that Alex wanted to gag, if they ever had kids the world would probably come to a crashing halt as the entire planet fawned over the two perfectly gorgeous newcomers. Alex took a gulp of her soda (and why Kara couldn’t have beer for her guests was beyond her, even if it didn’t affect her) and bit back a laugh as Winn fumbled his way through the cue cards

“Oh! This one’s easy! You’re cousin,” Kara frowned “Rodger Danvers, who likes this…person…a lot,” Winn dropped the cards on the coffee table and sank back down onto the couch next Alex “could you just kill me right now?” he hissed, Alex smirked as Lucy picked up the last card and turned it over

“Oh, Superman!” she read, she chuckled “you should’ve just said ‘James’ secret boyfriend’” she teased

“Ha-ha” James deadpanned

“You know I meet his little cousin, Supergirl today” Lucy added

“Really?” Kara asked “wha, what did you think of her?”

“It wasn’t that impressive,” Lucy admitted “it was kind of like seeing a movie star in person and you’re like ‘is this it’?” Alex watched Kara’s face fall

“I don’t think she’s that…unimpressive” James pointed out

“Really?” Lucy echoed, sounding a little disbelieving “she looks like a cheerleader who got kicked off the squad, I mean why the hell is she wearing a _skirt_? Does she _want_ people to look up it as she flies by?” Alex gripped Winn’s hand tightly, almost bruising actually, to prevent him from defending his costume choices, although she had to agree with Lucy, that skirt was _stupid_ , but she'd complain about Kara’s fashion choices later, right now she was more concerned with how Kara’s face fell. Fortunately, Lucy was prevented from tearing into Supergirl any further by a knock at the door

“I’ll get it!” Kara all-but-bolted off the couch and rushed to the door, pulling it open only to squeak in surprise “oh! Uh, um, Aunt Astra! Wha, what are you doing here?” Alex choked on her drink as Astra—dressed in a t-shirt and blue jeans (and _sneakers!_ Alex didn’t think Astra even knew what sneakers were! Let alone actually own a pair, maybe she rented them?)—walked in

“You invited me to game night, didn’t you?” she said to Kara

“I did?” Kara echoed, looking confused “I did! Right! Sorry! I, uh, I thought you said you couldn’t make it?”

“My schedule opened up,” Astra answered as she glanced around the room “are you going to introduce me?” Kara blinked again

“Right! Sorry, uh, well you’ve already met James and Winn, and you work with Alex of course, so, uh, oh! This is Lucy, James’ girlfriend” Alex felt a little smug as she watched Lucy’s eyes widen as she shook Astra’s hand

“We’ve earlier today,” Astra said smoothly “Ms. Lane, was it?” Lucy nodded

“That's right, yes, Ms. Inzeli?” Astra nodded

“That’s right,” she said, she sat down in the other recliner, folding her legs under her in the lotus position, looking very casual and relaxed, and not at all like the head of a top secret organization that hunted down aliens who was also an alien herself. She held up a deck of cards “does anyone here play gin?”

 ******

“You actually invited Astra to game night?” Alex asked about fifteen minutes later as she hustled Kara into the kitchen

“I didn’t actually expect her to come! I was just offering!” Kara hissed, she glanced back over at Astra, who had already beaten Alex and Lucy at gin, Lucy had been the first to play and the first to lose, Alex had only lasted slightly longer than she had, James and Kara didn’t know how to play so they were spared, but Winn of all people seemed to be holding his own “besides,” Kara said, drawing Alex away from watching Winn get his butt kicked “its not like she’s a terrible liar, I mean she fooled you into believing that she was human, and you’re sleeping with her!” Alex cringed

“Please don’t mention that in front of Lucy, it’s already bad enough that she recognized me”

“HA! GIN!” the Danvers sisters looked over to see Winn triumphantly throw a card down, Astra scowled and dropped her own hand onto the coffee table, having clearly lost

“Whoa” Alex said


	30. Hothead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara loses her cool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update

******

The next day Alex watched nervously as Kara flexed her arms while Dr. Marrow set up the Red Tornado

“I don’t say this often,” Kara began “but I am itching for a good fight today”

“Yeah, well, just keep you’re cool and you’ll be fine” Alex soothed, she cringed as she remembered how hurt Kara had looked last night as Lucy tore into Supergirl as she walked into the tent and got the DEO’s own monitoring systems ready

“Twenty bucks on the android” Agent Sanders joked behind her, Alex bit back a smirk

“Forty on the alien” she replied as Astra, General Lane, and Lucy walked inside. Astra marched right up to the monitors, looking nothing like the quirky funny aunt she had been last night, and Alex had to be a little envious of how _easily_ she could switch between the two roles, she did it like she was changing her shirt, and Alex wondered if it was a Kryptonian thing, the same trick that allowed Clark to play the mild-mannered reporter and Superman and Kara to play Cat Grant’s dorky assistant and Supergirl

“The minute I see something I don’t like, I’m shutting this down” Astra announced

“Which I would completely understand, if you had any authority over me,” General Lane responded, he nodded to Dr. Marrow “doctor, you can begin” on the monitors Alex watched as the Red Tornado activated, but instead of hitting Kara, or even firing a missile at her, it instead sent a _whirlwind_ at her from its spinning hands, the force of the cyclone was so powerful it actually sent Kara into the air, where she bobbed like a balloon, trying to get her bearings back, while the android launched three missiles at her, all of which hit Kara

“Maybe she isn’t taking this seriously” Lucy commented with a hint of a sneer, like her opinion of Supergirl just went down some more, while her father looked smug. On the monitors Kara dodged the next two missiles before diving straight down into the ground, disappearing, it was the kind of showy move that Alex would have expected from Superman, not from Kara, but it seemed to work as Red Tornado quickly lost its target, even as it scanned the shifting, Bugs Bunny-like pile of earth. Kara suddenly burst out of the ground _behind_ the android, knocking it forward and sending into an undignified faceplant into the sand. Alex frowned at the screen, watching as Kara stormed forward and continued to hammer at the android even though she had technically just won

“It’s experiencing systems damage,” Dr. Marrow announced “the test is over. Pull the plug. Now” Alex tapped her comm.

“Supergirl, you won” her only response was an angry bellow from Kara as she kept hitting the machine, at one point hitting its arm with freeze breath, causing the arm to actually break off

“Supergirl! Stand down!” Astra ordered “that’s enough!” Kara stopped and backed away from the android, something started nagging in the back of Alex’s mind as she watched the android. It looked at Kara, then looked at it’s severed arm lying in the sand. It suddenly shot up into the sky, generating a whirlwind from its legs and using that like a propeller

“Are you hurt?” Alex asked as they all rushed out of the tent towards Kara

“No” Kara shook her head

“She must have triggered his self-preservation protocol” Dr. Marrow muttered

“I can’t see it” Kara announced, squinting up at the sky

“He’s in stealth mode,” Marrow explained “making him one hundred percent undetectable”

“This is your fault!” General Lane accused, Kara spun around

“You asked me to fight it!” she snarled

“And now your _recklessness_ has unleashed an uncontrollable killing machine on National City!”


	31. Cooldown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> General Lane fires Dr. Marrow, Alex and Susan have a talk, Lucy comes around, then they find out what the Red Tornado was built for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MULTIPILE UPDATE!!!!!

******

To say General San Lane was mad as he marched into Command was like saying that Grand Canyon was only a ‘little crack’, despite that he didn’t let his anger get the better of him, he didn’t scream and shout, he kept focused, collected.

Kara could learn a thing or two from him, Alex realized

“A _billion_ dollar investment,” Lane began as he and Lucy marched into Command “ _eleven years_ of R &D, and what do we have?” he nodded the Red Tornado’s severed arm sitting on the operations table “a paperweight. I want this thing found and I want it destroyed _before_ it turns National City into a warzone”

“Destroy it?” Dr. Marrow echoed “you can’t do that”

“The last thing the Army needs is a bunch of wounded civilians on the nine o’clock news” Lane explained

“I have invested too much time and effort into this” Dr. Marrow insisted, Lane turned and glowered at him

“Into _what_ , Marrow?” he asked “the Red Tornado _failed_ , and so did you. You’re fired,” Lane ordered, he glanced at Astra “do you any _objections_ , Director Inzeli?” he asked, Astra smirked but didn’t take the bait

“I think for once we agree, General,” she said simply “Agent Danvers, take the arm to the lab and pick it apart, examine each screw head if you have to, but I want to know how to stop this thing” Alex nodded as she grabbed the arm

“Yes, ma’am” as she turned to leave she saw Astra turn to Supergirl

“You, come with me” she ordered

******

Alex rubbed at her eyes. She’d been cooped up in that lab for at least half a day at least—it had certainly felt like it anyway—and was still getting nowhere on where the Red Tornado was or how to stop it. So she took an hour off and was now sitting in the commissary guzzling more of what the DEO called ‘coffee’

“Hey,” Vasquez sat down across from her, already munching on a bag of Chocos “heard about what happened today, how’s your sister doing?”

“Don’t know,” Alex admitted “she left in a huff after Astra chewed her out in private, so…” Vasquez nodded while Alex sighed “I just don’t get why she’s so…angry lately”

“It’s everything,” Susan explained “finding out about Astra, finding out that you work here, that you’re dating Astra, meeting Lucy Lane, everything,” she paused to pop some more Chocos into her mouth “but it’s not just anger, its also fear and uncertainty,” she explained “fear of losing control, of hurting those she loves _because_ of her powers, fear that being Supergirl will prevent her from ever having a ‘normal’ life”

“If that’s true,” Alex began “then how do I help her?” Susan shook her head

“You can’t, not in that way, Kara has to figure that out on her own, if you tell her she’ll just think you’re being nosy or that you’re trying to interfere with her life”

“So, how do I help her?” Alex insisted

“You find her a way to release all that pent up anger, otherwise she’ll blow up in somebody’s face”

“Or clobber a rouge military android,” Alex pointed to one of the TVs mounted to the wall, displaying a live newsfeed from downtown which showed Kara in the midst of fighting Red Tornado…

******

“Well, northing’s broken,” Alex began as she examined the cut on Lucy’s head, after Kara had brought her and General Lane in, after the Red Tornado had created a literal tornado in the middle of downtown “you’re lucky, Major” she said as she applied a bandage

“You save my life,” Lucy began “thank you” and her tone indicated that everything she ever thought about Supergirl had been turned on its head. Kara nodded

“Of course”

“You let that thing get away,” General Lane accused “I thought you were on our side” he turned and walked out of the iso lab, Kara, Lucy, and Alex following him

“I tried!” Kara insisted “it fought harder this time, faster, like it had learned a thing or two from the last go”

“It’s like it _knew_ that you would save those people,” Lucy pitched in “the tornado was just a distraction to get away. It used your humanity against you” she explained

“And it’s arm had been repaired” Alex muttered, something was defiantly _off_ about this whole affair

“Right now, what concerns me is that more innocent humans could be in danger,” General Lane began, he glowered at Kara “if anything else happens, you and the DEO will both be held accountable”

“That’s _enough_ , General!” Astra marched over, projecting an air of confidence and control “you told us that the Red Tornado was designed to fight insurgents,” she began “but see, that doesn’t make sense, because I’ve fought against insurgents before, most of them are a bunch of self-deluded idiots with guns and delusions of grandeur, you don’t need a weapon like Red Tornado to stop them when a team of well-trained soldiers will do,” she dropped the severed arm onto the table “so, I had my team analyze Red Tornado’s dermal covering. It’s made of a biosynthetic polymer with traces of lead, to suppress x-ray vision right? The android wasn’t meant to fight insurgents, it was designed to _kill_ Kryptonians” she accused, Alex felt her head ping-pong between Lane and Astra and she saw that Lucy looked just as surprised as she was

“You’ve got Fort Rozz aliens locked up downstairs,” General Lane began as he circled around the table, confident in his own beliefs, not even bothering to deny it “monsters. Abominations. Some of them have horns. Some have wings, and some _spit acid_ ,” he nodded to Kara “do you know the difference between them and her? She’s blonde”

“The ‘blonde’ just saved you and your daughter’s life tonight,” Astra pointed out “you don’t owe her fear and contempt, you owe her a _thank you_ ”

“With all due respect, _Director_ ,” Lane began “you’re attitude towards these… _creatures_ has always troubled me. I sometimes wonder what Washington was thinking they appointed you as Henshaw’s replacement”

“If you don’t like the way I’m doing my job you’re more than welcome to call Washington and file a formal complaint,” Astra countered “but for the moment, need I remind you that you and your men are _guests_ here at the DEO. The President’s orders only apply to the android, not to you” Lane scowled before turning and stalking away

“Director Inzeli,” Lucy spoke up once her father had left the room “I think I might know how we can stop Red Tornado” she said, Astra nodded slowly

“Then, by all means, Major, do tell”


	32. Anger Managment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and James help Kara deal with her anger, then Alex finds out what's causing Red Tornado's rampage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Another update of Strange Visitor from your friendly fellow General Danvers shipper :=)

******

While Lucy disappeared in search of one her contacts at the Pentagon, Alex disappeared off to CatCo in search of Kara who had been summoned by Cat almost as soon as General Lane left. At this time of day most of CatCo’s employees had gone already home for the night, and the only person that Alex could see was James who was standing out on the balcony, staring off at the city

“James?” she felt odd as she walked up to him, like she was intruding. James blinked, clearly lost in thought, as he turned to her

“Oh, Alex, hey,” he greeted “didn’t expect to see you here”

“Yeah, I was just looking for Kara” she explained, James nodded

“She’s out with Ms. Grant,” he explained “Kara finally snapped at her earlier”

“You’re kidding?” James nodded

“I guess all that bottled up rage was just bound to boil over,” he said “how’s Lucy?”

“She’s good, that cut on her head won’t even scar, so as long as she doesn’t get thrown into anymore tables by rouge androids, she should be fine” Alex winced as her joke fell flat

“What was that thing anyway?” James wondered

“A rouge military android built by General Lane to kill Kryptonians” Alex explained, James sighed

“So that’s why he’s in town” he grumbled, Alex nodded

“Yep, dinner with you and Lucy was just a time-killer,” she said “how’d dinner go anyway?” James chuckled

“Honestly? I think the killer robot was the height of the evening” he said

“That bad?” Alex asked, he nodded

“Lucy’s father has never liked me” he explained

“Why not?” Alex wondered “you’ve got a good job, you’re nice, smart, hell, if I wasn’t taken _I’d_ date you” James chuckled

“Thanks, but, seriously the reason he doesn’t like me is because I associate with aliens” Alex nodded in understanding

“Because you’re friends with Superman”

“Yeah,” James sighed “at dinner, when Lucy left to give us some privacy, he called me a ‘glorified paparazzo’ and told me that I wasn’t good enough for Lucy”

“I’m beginning to like him even less” Alex grumbled

“You know, when he said that, I just _really_ wanted to hit him” James muttered

“But you didn’t, obviously,” Alex pointed out “now if only Kara had that kind of impulse control lately”

“You know, I don’t ever remember Clark having to…manage his anger” James remarked

“Of course not, he’s a guy” Alex pointed out

“Still, black men aren’t exactly encouraged to be angry in public” James pointed out

“True,” Alex agreed “but it’s a double standard, women are taught to keep it all in and just smile,” she gasped as the proverbial light bulb went off over her head “oh my god, that’s it,” she realized “I know what we can do to help Kara get over her anger”

******

“Wow, I thought Rocky Balboa hitting a side of cow was impressive” James commented as he walked into the garage. Alex glanced at the mid-sized sedan she had hoisted up over the floor

“Well, we can’t exactly sign her up for kickboxing classes” she explained just as Kara walked in

“O…K,” she said as she eyed the dangling car “um, what’s going on?”

“Welcome to Kryptonain Anger Management,” Alex announced, she nodded to the two punching bags she’d hung up next to the car “the rules are simple, each of us says what’s bothering us and then starts punching” she explained, Kara looked between the two of them, then nodded

“OK, I’m game” she took off her glasses and tucked them into her back pocket before settling into a fighting stance in front of the car, looking strange in her cute stripped sweater and sensible slacks

“I’ll go first,” James said as he finished strapping on his gloves “uh, I _hate_ how Lucy’s father treats me!” he slammed a fist into the bag

“I hate him too!” Kara growled out, jabbing a fist into the car hood, putting a dent into the metal

“I hate his attitude towards Kara and Astra!” Alex jabbed at her own bag

“I hate that my aunt has to hide who she is!” the car hood dented even more

“I hate that I can’t take Astra out on a real date!”

“I am _not_ holding Lucy back!”

“I hate that Astra can’t talk to Kara in public!”

“I hate that I will never get to have a _normal life!!_ ” the car hood suddenly groaned and buckled as _something_ from engine block broke off and went flying across the room. Kara took a breath as Alex and James stared at her “oh my god,” she panted “there _is_ anger behind the anger”

“Kara?” Alex questioned softly while Kara took a breath

“All this time,” she began “I thought that, that by putting that suit everything would finally make sense, because, my entire life I was afraid that I would never get to have a ‘normal’ life, once I came out as Supergirl, I thought that, that this is what my ‘normal’ life is supposed to be like, when my ‘normal life’ _ended_ the minute my parents put me in that pod”

“Kara…” Alex began, but Kara shook her head

“Seeing Lucy,” she paused “seeing what James and Lucy, what you and Astra have, made me realize that I _will never_ have a ‘normal’ life”

“Kara, there’s no such thing,” James pointed out “everybody’s lives are different, mine, Alex’s, yours, nobody, _nobody_ can expect for their life to turn out exactly like other peoples” Kara sighed and quietly nodded as Alex’s cell phone quietly buzzed

“Danvers”

_“It’s me,”_ Astra said _“Major Lane found something that I think you should both see”_

“Kara” Alex said softly, Kara nodded as James smiled softly at her

“Go get ‘em, Supergirl” he encouraged

******

When Alex and Kara walked into the DEO they found Lucy and Astra hunched over what looked like a set of blueprints

“Agent Danvers,” Astra greeted without looking up “Red Tornado’s blueprints, courtesy of Major Lane’s contact at the Pentagon,” she explained, she turned the blueprints towards Alex “now, look very closely at it’s brain and tell me what you see” Alex frowned at the blueprints, finally spotting the problem

“It’s a drone?” she asked, Astra nodded

“A very sophisticated one,” she confirmed “but yes, just a drone, there is nothing in its brain that would allow it to function independently”

“So, what does this mean?” Kara asked

“It means that Dr. Marrow is still controlling it” Alex explained with a sigh

“That’s why it went after General Lane” Kara realized

“Exactly, Marrow wants revenge on my father for mothballing his life’s work” Lucy pitched in

“Which also explains how its arm got fixed,” Alex added “Marrow repaired it”

“So, how do we stop it?” Kara asked

“That’s easy,” Alex explained “we lure it out, then track the relay signal that Marrow’s using to control it _back_ to Dr. Marrow” Astra fixed Kara with a pointed stare

“Do you think that you might possibly be able to keep a cool head this time?” she asked, Kara nodded

“I’m not afraid of my anger anymore,” she replied “I can use it, make it work _for_ me” she explained, Astra nodded

“General Lane,” she called out, Lane turned from where he was talking with one of his soldiers “we think we might have a solution that may rectify your fuck up,” Astra explained bluntly “but, we’ll need your help” Lane simply nodded

“What do need me to do?” he asked, Astra smirked

“Why be bait, of course” she replied


	33. Extinguished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Kara take out the Red Tornado

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!!

******

It took about an hour, but finally they had a plan, a ‘reckless and harebrained scheme’ as General Lane had called it, but at least it was _a_ plan as Lucy had pointed out and that was how General Lane and his daughter came to be standing in part of the city’s old industrial district as Red Tornado landed in front of then

_“Signal’s in. I got a fix on Marrow”_ Alex reported as she climbed out the SUV and cautiously entered the old warehouse where the signal was coming from. At that moment the Red Tornado lunged, charging for Lane and Lucy…

Only to pass straight through them

The android paused and then took another swing at them, from behind this time, only for its fist to pass right through them. Tilting its head, it held out a hand and gently reached out, rearing back as the appendage passed right through the holograms. Lane smirked and saluted while Lucy waved as the projection ended

“How in the world did you manage to project thermally accurate, 3D holograms of us from over seventy miles away?” Lane wondered as he stared at the still-glowing crystal in front of him, the same crystal that carried Alura’s collected knowledge. Astra smirked

“Technology from those Kryptonians you’re so afraid of” she replied, she watched as Lane looked downright offended that they had used Kryptonian technology, while Lucy merely looked surprised

******

Alex slowly descended the stairwell, gun drawn, every sense alter. Finally she emerged to find what looked like something out of a hacker’s fantasy, a cluttered room filled with various odds and ends and several banks of computers. She studied one of the monitors, trying to figure it out, maybe she could just shoot it?

“That won’t work,” she spun around, gun raised to see Dr. Marrow standing behind her. He smirked and tapped the headset he was wearing “telepathic relay interface wired directly into his cerebral matrix,” he explained “if you want to stop him, you’ll have to stop all neural function from his creator,” he tapped his chest “you’ll have to kill me”

“You don’t have to throw your life away” Alex told him, Marrow smirked

“The Red Tornado is my life” he suddenly swung out with a piece of pipe, knocking her gun out of her hand, Alex jumped back, she’d underestimated him, he was a fighter, they punched and kicked, an elbow here, a punch there, somewhere along the way she’d managed to get a hold of her gun. But Marrow suddenly grabbed her from behind, struggling to get her gun away, she kicked and squirmed and finally twisted away, bringing the gun up---

She fired…

And watched as Dr. T.O. Marrow’s face went slack, watched as he slumped over, dead. She’d killed before, but this was different, because those other times she could rationalize it: _Hellgermite_ , _creature_ , _being_ , _alien_.

But never _human_.

_“You did it,”_ Kara gasped over the comm., she gasped suddenly _“it’s still going!”_ she announced _“it’s still going!”_

_“Agent Danvers?”_ Astra asked over her comm., Alex took a breath, focused, protect Kara she reminded herself as she turned to the monitors, each of which was displaying contradictorily information, one said the android was working fine, another said that it was turned off, another said that it was damaged

“No further commands are being sent to the android,” she reported at a complete loss “Kara…it’s become sentient”

Even in death, Marrow still couldn’t be stopped

******

“Hey, glad to see you’re still in one piece” Lucy greeted as Alex finally stumbled into the DEO about an hour later, Alex could only dimly nod,

“How’s Supergirl?” Astra asked

“At home, resting” Alex explained as she sank down into a chair at the operations table, she frowned as she felt Astra place a hand on her shoulder

“I read your report,” she began “I’m sorry you had to kill him” she said, Alex nodded, missing Astra’s touch as the other woman pulled her hand away as General Lane walked in

“Director,” he acknowledged “if you’re finished with this… _fiasco_ , there’s a jet waiting to take myself and Major Lane back to Metropolis” he stated

“Actually, I’m afraid only you will be returning to Metropolis, General,” Astra said, she nodded to Lucy “ _agent_ Lane will be staying here” Lane turned to stare at Lucy

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, sounding less like her CO and more like her father

“Resigning my commission,” she said simply, she crossed her arms and glowered at him “I know you think that Superman is some kind of…monster, but you’re wrong, Supergirl saved my life, she saved _your_ life, and then risked her own life cleaning up _your_ mess,” she shook her head “don’t you _get_ it?” she asked “you’re on the same side, but instead of working with the DEO you seem to think that this is some kind of…rivalry, instead of telling them, telling _me_ , what Red Tornado was designed for, you lied, you openly accused Director Inzeli of incompetence, and allowed hundreds of people to be put in danger all because of this….idea that you have that the DEO are a bunch of…alien sympathizers” she took a breath and stepped back slightly, waiting for Lane’s response

“I hope that one day, when you realize what a terrible mistake you’ve made, it won’t be too late” with that he turned on his heels and started to march out of the room, his soldiers filing out after him

“General” Astra suddenly called out, Lane stopped and turned

“Yes, Director?” he asked, a slight sneer in his voice

“I just thought you’d like to know that the Pentagon appointed me as head of the DEO on Superman’s recommendation” she told him, smirking, Lane scowled before turning on his heel and continuing on


	34. Embers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra have an intimate moment, end of Strange Visitor's AU of "Red Faced"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! An update of Strange Visitor (see polybi, I told you I was going to update this fic after I posted that comment), it's a short update, but one that I felt needed writing, AU of "Human for a Day" up next :=)

******

“How are you feeling?” Alex looked up, seeing Astra standing in her balcony doorway, dressed in the same t-shirt she’d been wearing on game night, and Alex suppressed a chuckle, somehow it fit that Astra would be a Dead head.

“I’m doing OK,” she replied "how's our newest recruit doing?" she asked

"Agent Lane is doing fine," Astra sighed as she joined Alex on the couch “it’s easier when they’re a different species, isn’t?” she asked suddenly “because then you can rationalize it, alien, creature, outsider, not so when they’re the same species as you” Alex sighed and suddenly sagged against Astra

“Do you know what really gets me?” she asked “for a few minutes there, just a few minutes, Red Tornado was sentient, which meant that it was… _alive_ ” Astra nodded

“I know,” she said gently “which means that Kara didn’t destroy a rouge android, she killed a sentient being, a living creature,” she sighed and placed a gentle kiss on Alex’s temple “do you think she knows?” Alex shook her head

“What scares me,” she began “is that, one day, she might be forced to kill again, and I’m afraid that she won’t be able to, not even if her own life’s in danger”

“Perhaps, that’s a good thing,” Astra murmured “killing… _changes_ you, a part of yourself… _dies_ with every life you take,” she explained “I don’t want Kara to have to experience that any more than you do” Alex snuggled closer to Astra

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore” she mumbled, Astra pressed her lips to the top of her head

“OK” she said softly as she ran her fingers through Alex’s hair. Alex nestled further into the crook of Astra's shoulders, knowing that the older woman would keep the nightmares away, she always did


	35. Human Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara loses her powers after fighting Red Tornado, Lucy's first day on the job goes less than well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Welcome to the next chapter in Strange Visitor and the first in the AU of "Human for a Day", hope you enjoy this one!
> 
> ONWARD!!

******

Alex drummed her fingers on the table as they waited for Kara’s test results to come back, even though she knew that they would be just like all the other tests they’d run over the past two days, negative, it seemed that using her heat vision to vaporize the Red Tornado had resulted in her draining her cells of solar energy, a talk with Alura’s hologram confirmed this pet theory of Alex’s, although holo-Alura seemed far more optimistic than Kara did

“You know, this happens to your cousin all the time,” she tried to sooth Kara “he overdoes it and then has to spend time as a human for a day”

“But it’s been _two days_ , Alex,” Kara insisted “and my powers _still_ haven’t come back”

“Just give it time,” Alex assured her “and hey, look at it this way, at least now you’ll know what it’s like to be ‘normal’ for a while”

“Might do you some good,” they turned to see Lucy walk up to them “no offense, Supergirl, but maybe not being so ‘super’ for a while might be a good lesson for you”

“’Lesson’?” Kara echoed, sounding insulted

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Lucy soothed “what I meant was that, maybe by knowing what it’s like to…stub your toe or get a paper cut, it might mean that you’ll be able to emphasize with people better, because, now, you’ve been where they are, you know what it feels like to be hurt” Kara frowned and looked like she couldn’t tell whether or not to be insulted or inspired by Lucy’s comment

“I think you broke her” Alex commented, unable to keep from chuckling at the expression on Kara’s face

“Hope not,” Lucy grinned “Agent Danvers, when you’re done, the Director wants your help with a prisoner” Alex nodded

“Tell her I’m just going to get Supergirl to work first then I’ll be right there” she said, Lucy nodded

"So, you _do_ have a day job," she commented to Kara "good to know," she smiled at Alex "I'll let the Director know" she said

******

Half an hour later Kara had been dropped off at home, changed, and then had declared that she'd take the bus to CatCo. Now, Alex and Lucy walked inside one of the prisoner cells. Inside the room Astra stood outside Jemm's cell, looking bored as she watched Jemm fire off a blast of energy, which harmlessly hit the walls of his cell

“Aren’t you getting tired of that?” she wondered

“Bow your head when you approach me!” Jemm ordered “I am Jemm! Master of the Faceless Hunters! Conqueror of—”

“…twelve worlds,” Astra finished with a tired sigh “I heard you the first twenty or so times, it’s still not impressive,” she smirked while Jemm glowered at her “trying to take control of my mind?” she wondered “force me to let you out?” she chuckled and knocked on the glass “hate to be the bearer of bad news but your cell has neural shielding, so you won’t be leaving”

“Then deactivate them,” Jemm growled “so that I may expose your true identity, as a _coward_. I will grind your loved ones to dust! All you care for shall burn!” Alex felt a spike of sadness well up within her as she watched that now-familiar darkness cloud Astra’s face and she almost took a step forward, but then remembered Lucy's presence and stopped

“There's nothing left to burn,” Astra murmured, she turned and walked towards Alex and Lucy, pulling them aside “Jemm’s fish tank is in need of its monthly cleaning,” she explained “I want you and agent Lane to see to it” she ordered, Alex nodded

“Copy that” she watched as Astra walked out, trying to ignore how Lucy stared at them both

******

About fifteen minutes later, Alex found herself with Lucy in Command while she ran through the checklist as they prepared to open Jemm’s cell, Lucy was good, listening and repeating each item on the checklist, but still looked a little overwhelmed

“Report” Astra asked as she watched them

“We’re almost ready, ma’am” Alex said as Lucy quietly nudged her while Astra nodded

“You and the director are close?” she asked, Alex nodded

“We’re friends, yeah,” she agreed as the computer chimed “we’re ready, ma’am” she announced, Astra nodded, content to see how Lucy worked as a new recruit

“Proceed”

“Preparing to open prisoner airlock,” Alex had just pressed the ‘OK’ key when the entire facility shook and trembled “we’ve lost power! Switching to emergency!” fingers flying across the controls Alex had already brought the backup generators online before Lucy had even gotten a good grip on the console. Having lived in California all her life Alex—unlike Lucy—knew exactly what had happened even as the lights flickered and the monitors went down

An earthquake

“I need eyes on the prisoner!” Astra ordered as the room stopped shaking

“System’s rebooting now!” Alex called back as the screen filled with static then cleared, and Alex felt a sudden chilll go down her spine as she took in the image on the screen.

Jemm;s cell was empty, he was gone

“Hostile’s lose! Seal off the base!” Astra ordered, and while Lucy still stood there, unnerved by the earthquake, Alex had already typed in the necessary commands, sealing off the base from the outside world.

Trapping herself, Lucy, and Astra in with a hostile alien.


	36. Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go from bad to worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update for Strange Visitor, thanks for your support, and here's some more General Danvers!!!

******

Alex took a breath, trying not to panic as she waited for the call to connect _‘come on, come on, come--’_

 _“Alex!”_ she breathed a sigh of relief at the sound Kara’s voice over the phone “ _are you OK?_ ” Kara asked

“I’m fine” Alex replied

“ _Liar_ ”

“Back at ya”

“ _Arm’s broken over here,_ ” Kara explained “ _which, by the way, a warning would’ve been nice about how much that_ hurts,” she sighed “ _so what’s going on there?”_ ”

“We’re on lockdown,” Alex explained “the base has been sealed off”

“ _Wait, so you and Astra are trapped in there?_ ” Kara asked

“It’s just standard procedure while we run safety protocols until we can get things back up and running,” she explained, she glanced towards the monitor which still showed Jemm’s empty cell “we’ll be fine,” she lied, no need to worry Kara “I’ll call you when I get a chance,” she explained, she glanced over at where Lucy was being tended to by a medic for a pretty nasty cut on her forehead “if you get your powers back in the meantime….call me” she instructed

“ _I will, first thing,_ ” Kara swore “ _love you_ ” she added, Alex chuckled

“I love you too” she replied, she hung up and glanced over to where Astra was talking two other agents, the Kryptonian looked up and raised an eyebrow in silent question, Alex nodded in silent answer, letting Astra know without words that Kara was all right, she could see the obvious relief in Astra’s eyes as the other woman approached her

“How’s Agent Lane?” she asked

“I’m fine, ma’am” Lucy answered as she came over

“Glad to hear it,” Astra commented “Agent Vasquez, assemble a strike team and have them meet myself and Agents Danvers and Lane in the hologram room”

“Aye, ma’am”

“The hologram room?” Lucy turned to Alex questioningly, Alex couldn’t help but smirk

“You’re about to meet Supergirl’s mother” she explained

******

“ _The situation you face is dire,_ ” Alura’s hologram proclaimed “ _Jemm was one of the most ruthless dangerous criminals ever banished to Fort Rozz, his mental abilities allows him to read and take control of the minds of more than one individual simultaneously and force them to do his bidding,_ ” it explained “ _your only hope is my daughter, Kara,_ ” it added “ _humans cannot—_ ”

“Shut it off,” Astra ordered, the hologram—still altered to resemble an older Kara rather than Astra’s twin—vanished “our first priority,” Astra began as she turned to address the small strike team which were checking their weapons “is to ensure that Jemm does not read our minds in the field, or worse, take control of us”

“How do we do that?” Lucy wondered, Astra smirked

“Agent Danvers?” Alex nodded and picked up the heavy case at her feet

“R&D’s been working on these,” she said as she opened the case “neural disruptors,” she explained as she pulled out one of the headsets “they’re basically miniature versions of the neural shielding in Jemm’s cell”

“All right, we have only five disruptors left, so your orders are as follows,” Astra announced “Tsung, Reynolds, Vasquez, with me. All of us wears one of these," she held up a neural disruptor "do _not_ , whatever you do, lose sight of your partner, if you do lose contact with your partner then assume they’ve been compromised and take all necessary action,” she sighed “shoot to kill if need be,” she added tiredly “Danvers, you, Donovan, and Lane will stay here and monitor our progress” she ordered

“Ma’am, I have more experience than Tsung and Reynolds combined” Alex felt obliged to point out

“Which is why I’m ordering you to stay here,” Astra countered “Lane hasn’t been cleared for active field duty yet and I need to know that I’m leaving these people with someone I can trust,” she explained, she glanced around the room “any questions? No? Good, then move out”

******

“ _Approaching sector twelve_ ” Astra reported

“ _Danvers, you see anything?_ ” Tsung asked, Alex carefully scanned the monitors

“No,” she reported “visuals clear, heat sensors, motion sensors clear” she announced, there was a sudden pop and a shower of sparks

“ _Lights went out,_ ” Tsung reported “ _switching to head lamps. Director, are you here?_ ”

“We only see two of you” Lucy reported, frowning at the monitors

“ _Where’s Inzeli?_ ” Tsung asked

" _Don't know, Vasquez's gone too_ " Reynolds reported

“Strike team, be advised we’re losing visual” Alex reported as the screens started to fill with static

“ _Hostile’s in our sector!_ ”

“ _What are they_ doing _out there?!_ ”

“ _It’s like he’s everywhere!!_ ” there was a blast of gunfire, then silence. Alex felt a knot in her gut twist as she watched as Tsung's and Reynolds' vitals flatlined. Lucy turned to Alex

"What happened to Director Inzeli?" she demanded almost accusingly

"I don't know" Alex answered


	37. Suspicions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex gets worried, Lucy gets suspicious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! An update to Strange Visitor in a single day!! Don't forget to comment and let me know what you thought :=)

******

“Our orders are to stay here!” Lucy argued “we don’t even know if Inzeli and Vasquez are still alive!”

“We don’t know that they aren’t,” Alex countered as she loaded her rifle “all right, do _not_ open those doors until you get the all clear from me and _only_ me!” she turned to the doors, snapping her rifle up when they suddenly slid open, revealing Astra and Vasquez on the other side

“Mind lowering that weapon?” Astra asked sarcastically as she and Vasquez walked in

“What happened out there? We lost visuals” Alex demanded as Astra went to the ammunition case and began to reload

“That was interference from Jemm’s telepathy” Vasquez explained

“He ambushed us,” Astra added, she frowned, that familiar darkness falling over her “Tsung and Reynolds…they’re gone”

“I’m loaded up, ready to go” Alex said, Astra shook her head

“Only two disruptors left,” she tapped her own “Jemm destroyed the others”

“It gets worse,” Vasquez pitched in “we found burn marks on Reynolds, they’re from a telepathic scan, which means that Jemm read his mind and now knows everything that Reynolds knew”

“Oh god,” Alex groaned “Reynolds was chief of security” Astra nodded

“Which means that Jemm can now open every cell in this base” she said

“And use the combined powers of the inmates to break through those blast doors and get out” Alex realized

“Vasquez and I will try to cover the cell block, but we can’t have you and the others getting underfoot, so _stay here_ ,” Astra explained, she lowered her voice “I don’t need your help Alex, I need you _safe_ ” she told her

******

“We can’t just keeping sitting here, waiting for Jemm to kill us” Lucy snarled about fifteen minutes later

“You don’t think that Director Inzeli and Agent Vasquez will come through?” Donavon wondered

“I don’t think that relying on them is in our best interests right now” Lucy explained

“Why do you say that?” Alex asked, Lucy sighed

“I found out something about Director Inzeli,” she explained “something…worrisome” Alex felt a chill go down her spine, did Lucy know about Astra?

“I don’t know about that,” she said “but you’re right, we need to get out of here before Jemm hunts us down ducks”

“So what do you want to do?” Lucy asked, Alex sighed

“We go out” she said

“But we don’t have anymore neural disruptors,” Donavon pointed out “so, how do we protect ourselves from Jemm?”

“We do just as Astra told us,” Alex explained “we stick together and don’t lose sight of each other”

“Sounds like a plan” Lucy agreed, Donavon nodded

“I’m in”

******

“Clear,” Alex whispered as she rounded the darkened corner into sector twelve. So far things had been going OK, but she knew that it was just a matter of time. She jerked to a stop as her flashlight beam caught Reynolds’ profile, she stamped down a shiver as she saw the still-raw burn marks in his forehead as well as how _dead_ he looked. Stamping down the natural urge to vomit, she moved over to Tsung’s limp body, pulling off the neural disruptor. Not really expecting anything to happen, she flicked the switch, surprised when the device hummed to life “this neural disruptor is still functioning” she announced

“Inzeli said that they were destroyed in the fight” Donavon pointed out

“Check the one on Reynolds” Lucy ordered

“This one’s still working” Donavon announced a few seconds later

“She lied!” Lucy snarled, and there was something in her voice that made Alex worry, worry that Lucy had trust issues. Donavon frowned as he looked between the two women

“Oh man, this isn’t good, is it?” he groaned

“No,” Alex agreed “no, it’s not,” there was a bang as one of the lights behind them suddenly exploded in a shower of sparks “put that disruptor on now!” Alex barked, not really sure if she meant Donavon or Lucy. She looked up as Lucy slipped on the headset while Donavon just sat there blinking “Donavon, you still with me?” Alex asked as he turned to look at the two women

“He’s in my head!” he hissed, he grunted as his hand—seemingly of its own volition—reached down and drew his gun, he quickly threw his free hand over his gun hand and tried to hold it down “I don’t...know...how...much...longer...I...,” he grunted in clear pain as his gun arm swung up and took aim at them “go,” he pleaded “GO!”

“I’m sorry” Alex whispered, before she grabbed Lucy’s arm and ran

******

“We didn’t have to leave him there!” Lucy hissed as they cautiously moved down the next corridor

“You’d prefer I just shoot him?” Alex asked, but before Lucy could answer something suddenly grabbed both of them from behind and dragged them into an auxiliary computer room. Spinning around Alex found Astra and Vasquez at the now-shut door

“What are you two doing here?” Astra demanded

“Donavon and us went looking for you” Alex explained

“Donavon, where is he now?” Vasquez asked, but before either Alex or Lucy could answer Astra let a frustrated snarl

“You lost him. Damn it! This is why I told you stay with the others!” she snarled

“You also told us that the disruptors had been destroyed” Lucy pointed out

“Because I didn’t want either of you doing something _**stupid like this**_!!!” Astra snarled

“ _Agent Danvers?_ ” Donavon’s voice asked over the comm., Lucy tapped her own comm.

“This is Lane,” she answered “good to hear from you, Donavon, thought we’d lost you back there”

“ _I’m all right,_ ” Donavon replied “ _but I’m all turned around out here_ ”

“Lucy,” Alex said when Lucy was about to respond “it’s not him anymore” she said softly, watching as the horror flickered across Lucy’s face while Astra tapped her own comm.

“Jemm, drop the act, we know it’s you” she said

“ _You’re too late_ ,” Jemm’s voice suddenly rumbled over the comm. “ _soon I will free the other prisoners and tunnel through to the surface,_ ” he boasted “ _there is no escape you_ ” then the comm. went dead

“All right, we need to get to a secure location before Jemm finds us” Astra ordered, she and Vasquez turned to door only to stop when Lucy suddenly raised her rifle and took aim

“Both of you back away from the door and drop your weapons” she ordered

“Lucy…,” Alex began “what are you doing?” she asked as both Astra and Susan un-holstered their guns and slowly put then on the ground

“I did some digging,” Lucy explained “there’s no record of an ‘Astra Inzeli’ ever serving in the U.S. Army, in fact there’s no record of an ‘Astra Inzeli’ anywhere,” she explained “not even a birth certificate,” she glowered at Astra “you don’t _exist!_ ,” she snarled, she glanced at Susan “I don’t know what your story is, but right now I don’t give a shit,” she reached behind her back and pulled out a pair of handcuffs “Danvers, cuff them to those bars over there” she ordered, holding the cuffs out to Alex. Alex felt her world stop as she studied Lucy for a moment, the other woman was scared, seeing what Jemm did to Donavon had terrified her to the point that it caused her to allow her fear and paranoia to dictate her actions, when normally she would probably accuse Astra of identity forgery after the crisis was over.

It also meant that if Alex didn’t go along with this insanity she might end up getting shot herself. Finally, she reached out and took the cuffs from Lucy, holding them out towards Astra and Susan

“I’m sorry,” she said as she snapped one half of the cuffs onto Astra’s wrist and looped it through the bars before snapping the other half onto Susan’s wrist, cuffing the two women together “I’m so sorry” she added, Astra smirked and shook her head but said nothing as Alex tapped her comm. “Jemm, this is Agent Danvers,” she began “you want out? You don’t need to use the prisoners for that, all you need is me” she explained

“Alex, don’t!” Astra urged

“I have the access code that opens those blast doors,” Alex continued, ignoring Astra and Susan’s panicked stares “meet me in the control room,” she instructed “because one way or another…this ends now”

“Alex, please!” Astra pleaded, Alex shook her head, hoping that Astra understood that she was doing this _for_ her, because she would die first before ever revealing Astra’s secret, before revealing J’onn's or Kara's, before ever letting any one of them come to harm

“I’m sorry” she said as Lucy checked her rifle

“Alex,” Astra shook her head in clear disbelief “I made your father a promise” she said softly, Alex nodded

“I know,” she said “but I made you one too,” she nodded to Lucy “let’s go” she said, she turned towards the door, ignoring the _clank_ of the handcuffs as they rattled against the bars as both Astra and Susan tried to free themselves

“Alex!” Astra called out after her, almost desperately, the door shut, but not before Astra’s final, desperate bellow of **_”ALEX!!!”_** tore through her chest and into her heart


	38. Torn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Lucy face down Jemm, with unintended consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's another update of Strange Visitor, hope you enjoy this one :=)

******

This was a stupid plan Alex knew, stupider—and infinitely more dangerous—then the plan they’d hatched to take out Red Tornado, _but_ it _was_ a plan, still a stupid one, but a plan nonetheless. She checked her rifle and nodded at Lucy, who nodded back. Both women froze at the sound of heavy footsteps, tensing as Jemm’s silhouette entered Command, Alex held her breath as she peered over the railing from the catwalk above the main workspace, taking careful aim as Jemm slowly walked into the room, his red skin seeming to blend into the red emergency lighting

“Show yourself!” he called out, Alex held her breath, he said ‘yourself’, singular, that meant that he didn’t know she wasn’t alone. She signaled to Lucy, who was on the catwalk opposite from her, as Jemm slowly glanced around the room “let us see if you die with more honor than your fallen friends” he taunted

 _’Now!’_ Alex thought as she popped up and fired, the heavy rifle fire pushing a now-enraged Jemm back, once he reached a certain position, Lucy hit the detonator, triggering the four grenades they’d placed on the floor. As Jemm bellowed in pain and rage, Alex jumped up and started sprinting down the catwalk, dodging Jemm’s own fire, the bright blue energy blasts lighting up the darkened room, while across the room Lucy also sprinted down the catwalk, laying down her own field of fire. Finally reaching the end, both woman quickly scampered down and firmly planted themselves at the entrance to the room. Dropping their now-empty rifles, Alex grabbed a shotgun, while Lucy drew two pistols and both began firing, the combined barrage of gunfire only served to slow Jemm down, aside from that bullets bounced off his skin just like they did with Kara, or Clark, or Astra.

Astra

Alex stamped down her thoughts of the other woman and kept firing, finally, one shot, either hers or Lucy’s, hit Jemm in the head, knocking the glowing blue crystal from his forehead. With a quiet growl Jemm slowly turned back to face them, a gaping bloody wound in his forehead “it will take more than _that_ to stop me, humans” he growled as he suddenly lunged, knocking their weapons out of their hands before easily throwing them both to the ground like blocks. Gasping, Alex rolled up into a sitting position, trying to keep herself between Lucy and Jemm.

There was a sudden bang and Jemm suddenly stopped, eyes searching the room as a section of the catwalk suddenly broke lose from its moorings with a shower of sparks and crashed to the ground in front of him, blocking him from getting to Alex or Lucy

A dark figure suddenly slammed into Jemm from behind, knocking him forward over the railing of the fallen catwalk, Jemm regained his footing and knocking his attacker back, before suddenly grabbing them by the throat and hoisting them off the ground, there was a sudden blast of heat vision, which threw Jemm away with angry pained roar, before his attacker lunged, easily sweeping his legs out from under him with a swift kick before grabbing him in headlock, and then, with one quick—almost casual—twist, easily broke his neck.

Alex found herself relaxing as she watched Jemm’s lifeless body hit the floor, while his attacker turned and silently shuffled over to the computers, typing in the necessary commands to bring main power back online. As the lights throughout the base slowly lit up in sequence Lucy slowly stood up

“You OK?” she asked as she helped Alex to her feet

“Yeah” Alex grunted

“Good thing Supergirl got here in time” Lucy muttered, Alex shook her head

“Supergirl doesn’t kill” she reminded the other woman

“Then who…?” the lights in Command suddenly flickered on, illuminating Astra as she stood, hunched over the console, gasping for breath, her knuckles bloodied. Lucy slowly turned to stare at Alex with wide eyes

“I told you,” Alex said as she tiredly collapsed into a chair “she’s not the enemy”

******

“Hey,” Alex looked up as Vasquez hopped down off the catwalk, she paused at the sight of Jemm’s corpse “I’d ask if everybody was all right,” she began “but it seems kind of moot now”

“All the same, it’s the thought that counts” Astra commented as she worked at the controls, slowly bringing the DEO back online

“Hey,” Alex looked over at Susan as the Martian came to stand next to her “you can trust Lucy” she said, Alex nodded as she turned back to look at Lucy, who was still sitting in the chair she’d collapsed into about five minutes ago, and for those past five minutes she’d been staring at Astra

“Say what’s on your mind, Agent Lane” Astra ordered, Lucy blinked slowly, once, twice, then

“You’re…,” she stopped, tried again “I mean you…”

“I’m not human, no,” Astra confirmed, she straightened up and turned to face Lucy fully “my name is Astra In-Ze, former general in Krypton’s Military Guild” she introduced herself

“Krypton,” Lucy repeated, her eyes grew wider “oh my god, you’re, you’re _Kara’s aunt!_ ” Astra nodded

“Yes”

“Which means…,” Lucy trailed off, clearly having trouble envisioning her boyfriend’s dorky friend as Supergirl “oh my god, I’m such an idiot,” she finally groaned “it all makes sense now,” she chuckled bitterly “I just didn’t want to put it together, didn’t want it to be true” and there was something in her voice that spoke of a deeper pain, probably something related to her father Alex figured

“Well, it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t exactly planning on announcing this during the mission debriefing” Astra commented

“Why did you lie?” Lucy suddenly demanded “I mean, you, Kara, Alex, why do you all lie?” she turned to Alex “what? Are you from Krypton too?” she turned to Vasquez “what about you? What? Are you from Mars or something?”

“Or something” Alex muttered

“We lie,” Astra began “because we have to, Major. Do you honestly think that Supergirl would be accepted if people knew who she really was, if your father knew?” she fixed Lucy with a hard stare and shook her head “being an alien on this world is like being a part of any minority, you’re forced to hide who you are, what you can do, not because you _want_ to, but because if you _don’t_ then people will fear you, and then people like Hank Henshaw are liable to capture you and cart you off to some government lab for study. Or worse,” she slowly walked up to Lucy “you’ve been here for two days, worked closely with me, now can you honestly say that I’m any different from you?”

“I don’t know” Lucy finally muttered, looking down, Astra nodded

“Well then find out” she ordered, with that she turned back to the computer monitors, watching as Susan continued to bring the DEI back online


	39. Dusk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra have an intimate moment, end of AU of "Human for a Day"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's another update of "Strange Visitor", I just saw the hit counter, over four thousand hits!!! wahoo!!! Keep up the hits and I'll keep up the story folks!!

******

“Hey, Kara, it’s me,” Alex frowned into Kara’s voicemail “just wanted to let you know that we’re all OK over here, I see that you’re busy right now,” she had to smile as she watched the news reports filter in about Supergirl’s return “so, uh, just call me when you get a chance, love you” she hung up and looked around for Astra

“She’s on the roof” Alex blinked and looked over at Vasquez

“Why is she up there?” she finally asked, Susan chuckled

“Working on her tan” she explained, Alex nodded slowly in understanding

******

“Hey,” Alex hopped up onto the roof and walked over to where Astra was laying down, eyes closed, hands neatly folding over her stomach, looking like some sunbather down at the beach, and even as she watched she could see Astra was looking stronger, even Astra’s hair looked fuller and shinier “how are your hands?” she finally asked as she sat down next to other woman, in answer Astra held up one hand, the skin on her knuckles already healed, though it still looked a little raw “I’m sorry you had to do that” she said

“Do what?” Astra’s voice was soft, quiet, contemplative

“Reveal your secret to Lucy” Alex explained

“Is that _all_ you’re sorry for?” there was no accusation in Astra’s voice, just honest curiosity, Alex sighed

“I was trying to protect you, to protect _both_ of you” she said

“There are other ways of doing that that don’t involve going off like some degraded movie character” Astra pointed out

“I know, I just…” Alex sighed, Astra sighed in response and reached out and put her hand over Alex’s

“It’s all right,” she soothed “what’s done is done, and at least we can take comfort in the fact that Lucy will not willingly expose either Kara or myself” Alex sighed as she laid down next to Astra

“Yeah” she agreed quietly, she squeezed Astra’s hand tightly as she watched the sunset, vowing to never let go


	40. Hostile Takeover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Non reappears, forcing Astra to relive some painful memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update, also since "Hostile Takeover" takes place right after "Human for a Day", I'm going under the idea, that Alex and Astra haven't had time to tell Kara that Lucy knows about her being Supergirl, hope that makes sense, and now...ONWARDS!!

******

“Non’s back, and he’s up to something,” Kara announced later that night as she walked into the DEO, just as Alex was getting ready to leave “he’s got your kryptonite knife too” she added to Astra who put her jacket down with a sigh

“Did you get that back by any chance?” Astra asked, sounding genuinely serious about the question, at Kara’s slightly bug-eyed look she scowled and snapped her fingers in annoyance “damn! I really liked that knife”

“So, wait,” Alex said, ignoring Astra for the movement and getting to the heart of the matter “if Non had the knife why didn’t the kryptonite affect him?”

“Oh, that’s more good news, he’s apparently made a suit that protects him from it” Kara explained, Astra’s eyebrow rose

“Now, that changes things,” she said “what did he attack you now after all this time?”

“He wanted me to deliver a message,” Kara explained “to you,” Astra’s eyebrow rose again, but she nodded for Kara to continue “he wanted me to tell you that the ‘reckoning is at hand’” Kara explained

“Wonderful,” Astra muttered “this could be the beginning of what we’ve all feared, a full-scale attack”

“I’ll head out right now” Kara said

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Alex objected “you just got your powers back, you need _at least_ a few hours to rest and recover” Kara chuckled somewhat condescendingly at her

“Now is not the time to big sister me, OK?”

“You’re no good to anyone if you go out there and get yourself killed,” Astra pointed out “Non wants you out of the game, he wants you to go out and confront him now. Go home, rest, knock him on his ass some other time”

“Will you stop handling me?” Kara demanded “it is my job to stop—”

“No. It’s not,” Lucy said as she came over “it’s _ours_ ” she stated vehemently

“Lucy’s right,” Alex pitched in “come in, tomorrow, we’ll spar and see if you’re ready, OK?” Kara looked like she might argue, but then sighed, her shoulders slumping as Astra nodded politely and turned to leave, Lucy quickly following behind

“You and _Lucy_ seem pretty chummy” Kara said with a slight sneer, the undertone of dislike for Lucy was still there, although whether it was because she was General Lane’s daughter or because she was dating James Alex couldn’t tell

“We can trust her, Kara” she assured her sister with a sigh

“How do you know?” Kara asked

“Just…I do” Alex explained vaguely, she could have told Kara that Lucy knew but felt that would one too many things on Kara’s plate, one more thing she didn’t right now, maybe, once this was all over, she would tell her

“Fine,” Kara sighed and rolled her shoulders, trying to work the kinks out “ugh, I hope it’s a slow day at work tomorrow” she groaned

 _‘I hope so too’_ Alex thought, hoping that Kara could get at least some time to just pretend that none of this was happening

******

Astra frowned and turned to face Lucy, who was still following her down the corridor

“Is there something I can help you with, Agent Lane?” she asked

“We need to talk”

“Some other time, Agent” Lucy jogged to catch up with the taller woman

“I am keeping a pretty big secret for you,” she pointed out “the least I deserve is some answers,” she jumped around in front of Astra, stopping her “you’re from Krypton, so how did you survive? Did you come with Kara? Did other members of your family come too?”

“Now is not the time, Lucy,” Lucy sighed and crossed her arms, staring down the alien in front of her, Astra sighed “one question, save the others for a less pressing day”

“You said you made Alex’s father a promise, what does that mean?” Astra sighed, repressing a shiver at those memories

“Jeremiah Danvers sacrificed his life to save mine,” she explained “before he died; he made me promise to look after his daughters”

“I don’t understand, why would he—”

“ _Another...day_ , Lucy,” Astra growled “right now, let’s just make sure that what happened to my people doesn’t happen to yours” another agent suddenly walked by

“I'll get on those reports right away, Director” Lucy said smoothly, Astra nodded

“Very good, Agent Lane” as she turned to leave, Lucy frowned

“Hey, where are you off to in such a hurry?” she wondered, Astra scowled

“The bathroom,” she spat “you’re not the only one who needs to pee!”


	41. In Memoriam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra faces memories she rather keep buried

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Finally Strange Visitor has been updated!!! (big YAY!!) I'm sorry that I haven't been anywhere near this fic for a while, but I got distracted, I apologize, but hey UPDATE :=) and now, onwards!!
> 
> UPDATE: Credit for this chapter must go to RenaM, who politely asked for an update, so here you are! :=)

******

Astra scowled as she banged away at her keyboard with slightly more force than needed. Hearing about Non’s return had brought back memories she wasn’t very eager to revisit, memories of Krypton, of Fort Rozz, and most of all, of Alura

“Astra?” she blinked and looked up at Alex standing in the doorway to her office “you OK?” she asked as she came inside, shutting the door behind her

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because ever since Kara told us that Non was back you’ve been locked away in here,” Alex explained “it’s not like you, in fact, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you’re scared” Astra looked up at her sharply, her eyes flashing, before her expression softened

“I’m not scared,” she began, her voice barely above a whisper “I’m mourning…”

******

_The spy beacon had lit up without warning, she knew who it was, and she knew that it was a mistake, but she needed to say goodbye, to Kara at least. Sneaking into the apartments was easy, frighteningly so, but she brushed aside any doubts or worries she had and swiftly made her way to Kara's room. For a moment she paused in the doorway, watching Kara, in that moment she knew that she'd been right, no matter how many times the image of that dead guard's face would haunt her nightmares_

_“Kara” she called out, Kara looked up, her face lighting up as she rushed over_

_“Aunt Astra! You got me message!” she cheered as she swiftly wrapped her arms around Astra, Astra couldn’t help but smile and pulled her darling niece close_

_“I’d never lose track of my spy beacon!” she growled playfully as she squeezed tighter before Kara pulled away, they touched the beacons together, the bright blue glow vanishing_

_“Where have you been?” Kara asked “Mother said you weren’t coming back, are you in trouble?”_

_“We all are, little one” Astra told her_

_“Why? What is it?” Kara asked, bright blue eyes wide “tell me,” she pleaded “Mother won’t tell me. No one will tell me” Astra brushed a lock of long dark blond hair away from Kara’s face before answering_

_“Krypton is dying,” she began “our core in unstable, it has been for a long time, because of how we’ve harnessed it for power, we became greedy. And now the oceans have changed, and the weather, I’m trying to get people to stop, to make them see that what they’re doing, and in doing so, I…I’ve had to do some difficult things”_

_“Is that why Mother won’t say your name anymore?” Kara wondered, and Astra felt a spike of sadness shoot through her, had it gotten this bad? Had she become a pariah? She bent down to Kara’s level, taking her by the shoulders_

_“I would do anything to save us, to save you, Kara,” she explained, hoping that Kara would understand that what she was doing was all for her, even if she didn't understand_ what _she was doing “but it isn’t safe for me here anymore," she explained "I have to go away again, but I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye” Kara suddenly let out a sob and threw her arms around Astra’s waist_

_“Please don’t leave!” she sobbed, and all Astra could do was hold her close, to try and hold on to this memory, knowing that this was the last time she would see Kara for a long time, if ever_

_“I couldn’t love a daughter more than if Rao had granted me a child of my own” she couldn’t keep the break out of her voice as she held Kara tight as the door slid open_

_“Kara,” she looked up to see Alura standing in the door "leave us" she instructed_

_“Mother…” Kara began_

_“Now Kara,” Alura ordered firmly, Kara looked up at Astra, who nodded, biting her lip Kara reluctantly pulled away and shuffled off and out of the room ”how could you have done this?” Alura demanded once they were alone “you’ve gone against everything our people hold dear”_

_“Our people will dead within a year if we continue to keep treating our world like an inexhaustible playground” Astra argued as Alura approached her_

_“You killed a guard”_

_“Non did,” Astra dismissed “it was…an unfortunate necessity” even to hear own ears the words sounded cold and_ wrong __

_“Come home with me, Astra,” Alura pleaded “I can pled your case in front of the High Council,” she offered “Non will go to prison for life, but your sentence could be commuted”_

_“What do I care about prison?” Astra demanded “we are dying, Alura! All of us!_ Kara _is dying. I_ will not _let that happen. I don’t care how many laws I have to break!” she took a breath and approached Alura “we used to be on the same side, sister,” she pleaded tearfully “we can be again” Alura shook her head_

_“I cannot be part of your designs” she said, Astra drew back_

_“Then I am sorry” she said, resigning herself to her fate, to save Krypton alone, as a terrorist, a criminal, a traitor_

_“Not as sorry as I am” Alura whispered, Astra looked up at the two guards who suddenly entered the room, weapons drawn. She stared at her sister, shocked_

_“No,” she hated how small her voice sounded in that moment “don’t do this” Alura shook her head_

_“I have to,” she said softly “I can’t let you hurt anyone else” with that she turned away, turning her back to her sister, as the guards approached and swiftly arrested Astra_

_“Alura_ please!” _she begged as the guards swiftly shackled her and began to drag her away “please! Listen to me! LISTEN TO ME!!”_

******

“…since that day,” Astra continued “I can’t help but wonder…did Alura use Kara to arrest me?” Alex sighed

“I think I’m going to be sick” she muttered

“You do look a tad…stiff” Astra noted

“Oh,” Alex winced as she shifted in her seat “just finished sparring with Kara” she explained

“How’s she doing?” Alex sighed

“She’s still hesitating, leaves herself open to attacks,” she began “I think, if it came down to it, she wouldn’t be able to kill Non” Astra nodded grimly

“I’m afraid you might be right,” she admitted "where is she by the way?" she wondered

"Oh, you'll love this," Alex chuckled "she's out at lunch, talking with Lucy about how to find the hacker who hacked into Cat Grants e-mails"

"And she still doesn't know that Lucy is 'in' on her secret?" Astra asked, Alex shook her head

"Nope" there was a sudden knock at the door, Vasquez poked her head in

“You two need to see this. Now” she ordered, Astra’s eyebrow rose, had it been anyone else, they probably would have found themselves on the receiving end of a well-constructed lecture that would’ve have left them feeling about two inches tall

“What is it?” Alex asked, Vasquez held out her tablet PC

“ _…an unknown male figure hovering over CatCo Plaza with, seemingly, the same powers as Supergirl,_ ” the newscaster was saying as a blurry image of what was clearly Non hovering in the air over CatCo appeared on the screen “ _who is he? Does he mean us harm? And should we be concerned?_ ”

“Call Kara” Astra ordered


	42. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex worries about Astra, and Non finally talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! Welcome to my first update of 2017! WHOO! Hope everybody is enjoying their new year! And now here's the next chapter of Strange Visitor

******

Fifteen minutes later, after an aerial brawl that had raged across three blocks, destroyed one (thankfully unoccupied) car and part of an office high-rise, Kara had finally walked into the DEO unceremoniously dragging an unconscious Non in by the arm

“Here” she dropped Non’s limp arm and took a breath

“Containment now!” Astra barked out as she turned

“You OK?” Alex asked Kara as two agents swiftly locked a pair of kryptonite cuffs onto Non’s wrists

“Yeah,” Kara groaned as she rubbed at the back of her neck, she glanced back over at Astra, who seemed totally indifferent to the goings on around her “is she?” Kara wondered

“I don’t know” Alex admitted

“You going to OK with… _him_ here?” Kara asked “’cause I have to get back to work”

“We’ll be fine,” Alex assured her “go,” as Kara turned to leave, Alex walked over to Astra “you OK?” she asked as they watched Non being carried off to a cell by two agents with four more heavily armed ones following

“I’m fine,” Astra answered “remind her to fill out an incident report before she leaves” with that she turned on her heel and walked out

******

_’…did Alura use Kara to arrest me?’_ those words rolled around in Alex’s head as she watched the image on the screen. Non had woken up about an hour ago, but so far had done nothing, he hadn’t demanded to speak with anyone, hadn’t said a word at all in fact, he just sat there, head back, resting against the reinforced safety glass, eyes closed, looking like he was dozing. Astra had reacted similarly to being told that Non was awake, she had simply nodded and said ‘understood, Agent Danvers’, and Alex hadn’t felt brave enough to push the issue.

 _”…did Alura use Kara to arrest me?”_ the words kept circling around in her head, chasing themselves in a circle like a dog chasing his tail. Finally, unable to stand it anymore, she stood up and marched out of her lab

******

“ _Hello_ ” Alura’s hologram greeted as Alex marched into the room, Alex took a breath

“Did you use Kara to arrest Astra?” she asked, pleased that her voice didn’t waver

“ _Yes_ ” Alex sucked in a breath, reminding herself that this wasn’t Alura, it was just a facsimile, only her collected knowledge, memories and thoughts reduced and boiled down to raw data and bits of code, stripped of any emotional resonance. Even so, Alex still couldn’t keep the shock out of her voice

“Why the hell would you do that?” she demanded

“ _Astra had broken the law,_ ” the hologram explained dispassionately “ _Kara was the only person she would trust enough to meet, it was necessary_ ”

“Necessary?” Alex demanded incredulously “you used your own daughter to draw your sister out of hiding”

“ _She was a criminal_ ” Alex frowned

“Guilty of what crime, exactly?” she demanded, Astra had told her that she had been imprisoned on charges of treason when she tried to save Krypton, but she hadn’t said, exactly, what her plan had been, only that it had been born out of desperation and bordered on insanity

“ _I am not programmed to give you that information_ ”

“Why not?”

“ _I am not programmed to give you that information_ ”

“Like try to talk to a brick wall, isn’t?” Alex blinked and turned to see Astra standing the doorway; she reached out and shut off the hologram before turning to leave “get back to your post please” she requested softly

******

“How’s Astra?” Lucy asked as she came over, handing Alex a cup of coffee as she did, Alex sighed as she took a sip, realizing that it was the good stuff from Nooan’s, not that swill the DEO cafeteria called ‘coffee’ “when Kara invited me out to lunch I grabbed some coffee for some of the other agents,” Lucy explained “Vasquez crumbled her Chacos into it”

“Yeah, she’s practically addicted to those things” Alex muttered as she took another, feeling a bit more alive as the caffeine shot through her

“So…how’s Astra?” Lucy repeated 

“Conflicted” Alex answered

“She can’t afford to be,” Lucy frowned “why…are you watching Non beat up Supergirl over and over?” she nodded to the recorded newsfeed that Alex had on repeat

“Oh, I’m watching to see if there’s some kind of Kryptonian martial art we can adapt for our people” Alex explained

“Sounds like a good idea,” Alex blinked and looked as Astra came over, she nodded politely at Lucy “agent Lane”

“Director” Lucy nodded back

“Something’s not adding up” both Astra and Lucy turned back to Alex, who gone back to staring at the screens

“Agreed,” Lucy muttered “not a single alien’s come looking for Non”

“What? No, no, here, in the fight,” Alex tapped the controls “here, see? First Non gets the upper hand, but then he loses spectacularly”

“That always seemed to be a habit of his” Astra quipped, Alex chuckled, while Lucy went bug-eyed again

“You and Non know each other?” she asked, Astra smirked

“Another day, Lucy” she reminded her

“Hey, wait,” Alex said “look at this”

“What are we looking at?” Lucy wondered

“This,” Alex rewound the image some more “here, see, Non _steps over_ Kara, that’s like the most open and vulnerable stance you can take”

“He’s a warrior, he should know that” Astra muttered

“Unless…” Alex began as she slowly looked up at Astra

“Unless…he wanted to lose” Astra finished

“He wanted to be captured,” Alex added, they both nodded at each other, before turning and marching off “thanks for the coffee, Lucy” Alex called out as they marched off

“You’re welcome?” Lucy called back

******

“You _let_ Supergirl beat you” Alex stated as she and Astra marched into Non’s cell, he was still sitting in the same position he had been in when Alex had last seen him half a day ago

“You allowed yourself to be captured,” Astra added “I’m impressed, I didn’t think that you knew the meaning of the word ‘subtlety’, you used to always call for a full-scale assault”

“The only question is why?” Alex wondered, Non remained silent “let me be perfectly clear,” Alex began “if I have to come in there and _beat_ it out of you, I will” Non finally opened his eyes and glanced over at them, his gaze shifting from Astra to Alex

“You’re the one who defeated the Hellgermite,” he remarked, his gaze flickered back to Astra “I commend you, Astra, you chose your soldiers well,” he remarked, he slowly stood up, drawing himself confidently to his full height, smirking at her “you’re becoming more and more like a human every day,” he rasped out “you talk like them, act like them,” his lips twisted in a disgusted sneer “you even _smell_ like them,” he hissed, he nodded at Alex “like this one. All of which has blinded you to the truth. Humanity is a _disease_. _Myriad_ is the cure” Alex watched as Astra stared at him, clearly shocked, before she turned and swiftly marched out of the room. Sparing Non a quick glance, Alex quickly followed Astra out

“Astra!” she called out as she chased at her “what is it? What the hell is ‘myriad’?” she grabbed Astra’s shoulder and forced her around to face her “I mean I’ve never seen you get rattled like that before,” she said “what is Myriad?”

“Myriad is the key,” Astra explained “my plan to save Krypton, the reason I was imprisoned in Fort Rozz, the reason Alura used Kara to draw me out, all because of Myriad”

“That still doesn’t tell me _what_ it is” Astra reached out and gently cupped her cheek

“Myriad allows you to force others to your way of thinking,” she explained “to make them do what you want them to do, millions of minds all working together in concert towards a single, unified goal” Alex felt shiver run down her spine

“Mind control” she realized, Astra nodded sadly

“That’s one way of putting it, yes” she said, Alex shook her head, trying to get her head around this new information

“I don’t get it, if myriad was the reason you were imprisoned, then why wouldn’t Alura’s hologram tell me about it?” she asked, Astra let out a snarl of frustration

“Don’t you see? Myriad can be used to do far more than just save a planet,” she explained “with the flick of a switch you could enslave an entire planet, your enemies could actually be made to fight for you”

“Upsetting the balance of power” Alex nodded along, she was about to ask more when a breathless Lucy ran up to them

“Lord Technologies is under attack!” she gasped out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, i forgot to mention, credit for chapter 41 must be given to RenaM who's comment about 'missing' this fic inspired me to update it, seriously I wrote and posted that chapter in like five minutes flat after reading that comment, thanks again :=)


	43. Siege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fort Rozz escapees attack Lord Tech

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!!!

******

“Stop! Stay where you are!!” Astra bellowed as the strike team—consisting of herself, Alex, Lucy, and about a dozen or so agents—burst into the lobby at Lord Tech. As they fanned out Alex assessed the situation: four Kryptonians—three male, one female, one male seemingly incapacitated on the floor—and two other aliens—one male, one female—she didn’t recognize. One female Kryptonian, clearly the leader, had Maxwell Lord in a chokehold, easily holding him up off the ground. She was tall and thin, like Astra, but she was thinner—almost emaciated-looking—with short, close-cropped brown hair and a harsh, angular face with sharp, harsh features. She glanced back over her shoulder at the strike team like Alex would if she saw a line of ants on her kitchen counter; disgust and mild fascination

“Kill them!” she ordered

All hell broke lose as the three male Kryptonians instantly broke formation, shooting up into the air and zigzagging back and forth. One of them paused and fired off a blast of heat vision, the blast searing straight _through_ one agent

“Go! Move, move!” Alex ordered as the strike team broke formation to find cover and regroup. One of the other two aliens—the female—charged, kicking and flipping over and around agents like a cat, she killed one by breaking his neck and another by exhaling some kind of gas or toxin into his face, while her male companion actually _split_ into two identical individuals and killed the agent trying to restrain him

For her part, Lucy was trying to find a target, even as one Kryptonian landed, knocking aside agents like toys. He spun in the air like a figure skater, turning to face Lucy, only for Astra to jump in front of her, a prototype kryptonite rifle—a new toy created by R&D that worked similar to a laser, firing a concentrated dose of kryptonite radiation at a target—in her hands. She fired off a shot, only for the blast to not even make him twitch. With an angry grunt, he lunged, knocking the rifle out of Astra’s hands before grabbing her by the throat and hoisting her up off the ground

“I’m surprised to see you here, Alura Zor-El” he hissed, Astra grinned, sneering at him

“Wrong twin!” she reached out, tearing off the bright blue device pinned to his chest. Gasping, he spun on his heel, flinging her away. By this time, Lucy had gotten her hands on the rifle and took aim as soon as Astra was clear, the bright blast of green energy sizzled through the air, irradiating the Kryptonian, killing him before his body even touched the ground. Dropping the now-dead rifle, Lucy rushed over to Astra

“You all right?” she asked as she grabbed Astra’s arm and helped her to her feet

“I’m fine," she thrust the small, still-glowing device into Lucy's hands "here, go help the others” she ordered

“Yes, ma’am”

Meanwhile six other surviving agents had surrounded the leader, guns drawn, as they slowly closed in. With an angry bellow she ducked down and then sprang back up, hurling them away like flies before setting her sights on Alex who was checking another fallen agent for injuries. Alex cringed as she saw the woman’s eyes light up with the glow of heat vision; she wondered where the hell Kara was.

There was a sudden crash and a bright blue and red streak burst through a window and collided with the woman, knocking her back and actually sending her sliding across the polished floor as Kara pummeled her. With a grunt, the woman managed to land a good punch on Kara’s jaw, forcing her off, before easily gliding up to face off against Kara

“Who are you?” Kara demanded as she floated level with the other woman, the other Kryptonian smirked

“Ursa,” she introduced herself with a kind of mocking half bow “wife of Non” with a growl she suddenly charged, Kara matched her and they both collided in mid-air crashing straight up _through_ the ceiling

“Alex!” Alex jerked and looked up see Astra rush over to her

“I’m all right.” she said as she climbed to her feet, she glanced up at the hole that tunneled straight up through the length of the building before glancing back at Astra “can you…?” Astra shook her head

“Too far,” she said, just as there was a sudden crash as something suddenly crashed into the parking lot “anyone who can still fight arm yourselves!” Astra bellowed as she grabbed a rifle and charged outside. Outside, in the middle of a six foot deep crater, the other Kryptonian, Ursa, was holding Kara by the throat, slowly lifting her up off the ground

“Non was right about you,” she hissed “you’re as weak as any human” Astra suddenly leapt into the crater, peppering Ursa’s back with bullets, all of which harmlessly bounced off and only served to piss her off. With a snarl, she dropped Kara and spun around, knocking the rifle from Astra’s hands before grabbing her by the throat, spinning around to pull Astra flush against her, using her as a shield as Alex and Lucy and the rest of the strike team surrounded them

“Let her go!” Alex ordered, Ursa fired off a blast of heat vision, forcing Alex and Lucy to duck, before suddenly shooting up into the sky, carrying Astra with her…


	44. Blood Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blood bonds us all, but even then it can blind us to the truth. AU of "Blood Bonds"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's the update of Strange Visitor I hope everybody's been waiting for, warning flashlights may be needed, because its going to get dark in here. Anyway, with that ominous warning, I now bid you onwards!

******

Alex felt numb

Astra was _gone_

Abducted, taken, by one of Non’s goons, who would do god only knew _what_ to her for revenge

“I should’ve been faster!” Alex blinked and looked up at Kara who was angrily pacing back and forth “I should’ve stopped her! I should’ve been able to rescue her!”

“Hey,” Lucy reached out and gripped her by shoulders “Kara, we’ll get her back” she said softly, Alex nodded, mildly surprised that Lucy had already told Kara that she knew

“She’s right” she said, Kara bit her lip and looked between to the two of them, finally smiling weakly at Lucy

“Thanks Lucy,” she said “I know that I…got a little upset after you told me that you knew, but,” she chuckled “I’m glad you know,” she said “it’s nice to have someone else to talk to”

“Thanks,” Lucy said “and we’ll get Astra back, don’t worry”

“Yeah,” Alex confirmed “don’t worry about her, she can take care of herself”

“Hey, stay away from up there!” Alex looked over to see Maxwell Lord wave away an agent from going up past the lobby, she whistled to get his attention

“We need to contain the area,” she told him “this is still an active crime scene”

“No,” he said slowly, as if she didn’t understand “this is my property” he spread his arms indicating the room at large

“This attack has been traumatic for us all, OK? They took my commanding officer,” she pointed out “at least tell us what the aliens were looking for, it could at least help us locate our agent”

“Why don’t you ask your pet alien?” Lord nodded towards Kara "now, get your jackboots off my grounds” he ordered

******

“So, who’s in charge now?” Kara wondered as they walked into the DEO, the injured being wheeled into the infirmary

“Don’t know,” Alex admitted, sidestepping a gurney “Astra classified the line-of-succession”

“Is there anything that she _doesn’t_ keep secret?” Lucy wondered

“Her secrets probably have secrets” Kara muttered, which earned a chuckle from Lucy and a tight smile from Alex

“We’re implementing the emergency protocols now” she said as they came to a stop next to Vasquez. She nodded at them

“Agent Danvers,” she tapped a few keys “look” Alex watched as the words ‘emergency protocols initiated’ flashed across the screens followed by seven words

EMERGENCY-DIRECTOR-IN-CHARGE

ALEX DANVERS

Alex took a breath while Lucy chuckled

“Wow, you two really are close, aren’t you?” Alex dimly nodded

“Yeah,” she mumbled, she turned to Vasquez “I want every tactical drone and satellite we have pointed at this city, scan it block by block, inch by inch,” she ordered “borrow a few satellites from NASA if you have to, but I want status updates every ten minutes” she glanced at Vasquez, who nodded, a slight smirk on her face

“Yes…Director Danvers” she said, and there was a distinct hint of approval in her voice as she hurried off, Alex turned to Lucy

“Lucy, I want you to coordinate with the Pentagon,” she ordered “see if they have any intelligence on the Fort Rozz prisoners that they’re not sharing, and get them to share it” Lucy nodded

“Yes, ma’am”

“Alex…,” Kara tried once it was just the two of them “I’m sorry” Alex shook her head

“Don’t be,” she said “let’s just concentrate on finding her”

“Maybe I can talk to Non, see if I can convince him to tell us where she is” Kara suggested, Alex shrugged

“Worth a shot”

******

“Where did Ursa take Astra?” Kara demanded as she and Alex entered Non’s cell. Non chuckled

“I spent decades in Fort Rozz, girl,” he sneered “it will far more than a stern voice to frighten me”

“Well then maybe I can have my cousin come down and force you to talk” Kara threatened, an empty threat that Non saw right through

“Kal-El doesn’t have the stomach for it,” he hissed “he was raised by humans; he might as well be one of them,” he sneered, he glanced up at Alex, smirking “come to beat me, _human_?” he asked “you’re welcome to try, for all the good it will do you”

“Blood bonds us all,” Alex retorted, she hid her satisfied smirk at Non’s surprise “that’s why Ursa didn’t kill Astra isn’t?” she asked “because you still care for her”

“You think you know us,” he rasped “you know _nothing_. Blood does not bind us to you, human, nor will it ever. No matter how many times you may share her bed” with that he turned away

******

_”Blood bonds us all,” Alura proclaimed “that ancient proverb comes from a time when Krypton was little more than a wasteland of warring tribes. And although blood is indeed a powerful bond that can unite us, it can also blind us from seeing the truth”_

_“The people of Krypton choose not to see the truth” Astra called out, Alura turned_

_“Your monstrous plan would have deprived people of their very freedom” she accused_

_“You are deluded, Sister,” Astra sneered, no blood bound them now, not after this betrayal “you cling to the belief that all people are inherently good. But they are weak, I sought only to give them courage, the courage to save themselves”_

_“You’re wasting your breath,” Non hissed while Alura turned to him “she brands us terrorists, whilst standing idly by as our world faces_ annihilation _”_

 _“Your moral outrage would be far more convincing, Non,” Alura hissed “if so many had not died as a result of your reckless,_ delusional _actions!” Astra looked down, ashamed at having a hand in those deaths, while Alura glanced over at Zor-El, who gave her a nod of encouragement. She turned and marched back over to the center of the room, she straightened her spine “you give me no choice but to impose the maximum penitily for your crimes. Lifetime imprisonment in Fort Rozz”_

_“Very soon, Alura,” Non hissed “you will see that you have not condemned us, but the sons and daughters of Krypton. Including your own,” his face twisted into a mask of rage “DO YOU HEAR ME, ALURA?!” he roared “YOU HAVE KILLED YOUR DAUGHTER!!” Alura slammed her hand on the controls, transporting Non to Fort Rozz…_

******

“You’re looking for a sound,” a voice suddenly called out of the darkness, breaking Astra out of her memories “something to tell you where you are,” the speaker rounded the corner, coming to face her “why bother, Astra?” she mocked “you know exactly where you are”

“True,” Astra sighed as she experimentally flexed her wrists in the cuffs without success “but it still helps. I get lost easily” the other woman sneered at her

“Always so flippant,” she hissed “so…caviler, one wonders how you rose to the rank of general in the Military Guild, defective as you are” Astra chuckled

“You’re trying to manipulate my emotions,” she noted “using the fact that I’m a twin to upset me,” she chuckled “a tad cliché, isn’t…Ursa?” Ursa leaned forward

“If you know my name,” she hissed “then you know what I am capable of”

“But do _you_ know what _I_ am capable of?” Astra challenged…


	45. Negotiations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!!

******

Alex blinked at the brown paper bag that had landed in front of her

“Here,” she looked up at Kara “I know you forget to eat when you’re working, so I got you something from that food truck you like”

“The one in Chicago?” Alex asked, Kara nodded “best little sister ever” Alex sighed as she reached for the bag only to stop when the monitors began flickering, static filling them before clearing to form into a familiar face

“ _This is Lieutenant Ursa of Krypton,_ ” Ursa introduced herself “ _we each have someone of great value to the other. I propose a trade_ ”

“This is Acting Director Alex Danvers,” Alex replied, sounding far more confident than she actually felt “excuse me if I don’t take you at your word. I need proof of life, I need to hear from Director Inzeli herself" Ursa stepped aside, revealing Astra, alive and seeming unharmed, cuffed to a dentist chair-like apparatus. Alex let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding

“ _Director Danvers,_ ” Astra breathed and Alex relished in the sound of her voice, smoky and husky even over a satellite uplink “ _enjoying the big chair?_ ” she teased “ _it’s more comfortable than this one, I can assure you_ ”

“I will bring you back safety” Alex swore

“ _Which will only happen if you do_ exactly _as I say,_ ” Ursa snarled “ _I will return Astra to you, unharmed, if you return General Non to me. You have forty-eight of your hours to comply, or she dies_ ” the screens suddenly flickered, then returned to normal, leaving Alex on the verge of panic

******

“Now we know why Ursa took Astra,” Lucy muttered “leverage, to ensure Non’s release”

“What are you going to do?” Kara wondered, Alex sighed

“If I turn down the deal, Ursa kills Astra, but if I go through with it, then I free a criminal with the same powers as you,” she jerked to a stop as she entered Command “General Lane” she said, Lane turned

“Well, it’s a pleasure to see you again, Agent Danvers” Lane drawled as his men continued unpacking files and equipment

“Wish we could say the same,” Kara replied with a scowl “and it’s _Director_ Danvers” Lane held up a file folder

“Not anymore,” he said “I’ve been given special authority over the DEO by order the President” he explained as he handed Alex the file

“This feels like a coup” she muttered as she snatched the file from him, tore it open, scanned its contents, and passed it to Lucy, trusting her to find and point out any legal loopholes that her father might try to wriggle through

“Nothing so nefarious,” Lane dismissed “considering the stakes, Washington feels that it’s best that this operation be lead by someone without any personal ties to the hostage. My orders are to locate the alien garrison and return Director Inzeli safely to her post” Alex glanced at Lucy who nodded

“It’s official, everything’s above board” she announced, Alex nodded as she turned back to Lane

“The base is yours, sir” she ground out, Lane nodded, clearly annoyed at the whole show and dance they’d just been through

“If you’ll excuse me, ladies,” he nodded at his daughter “Lucy”

******

“I don’t understand,” the telepath muttered “I can’t read her mind” Ursa scowled

“I thought that’s what your race was famous for” she snarled

“Maybe he’s playing you,” Astra commented “wouldn’t be that hard to do”

“I would never do that to you!” the telepath insisted, almost desperately “the humans must’ve created some type of technology that blocks me” he declared

“Or maybe I was trained to resist telepathic scans in the Military Guild,” Astra pointed out “what exactly are you looking for? Hmm? The location of the DEO? Thinking of launching a pre-emptive strike?”

“Perhaps I should _pre-emptively_ snap your neck” Ursa sneered, Astra chuckled

“You kill me, you kill Non,” she reminded her “right now you’re nothing more than a barking dog on a chain. No threat at all,” Ursa’s hand shot out, wrapping around the telepath’s throat and snapping his neck with ease “ _oh yes,_ ” Astra drawled as the body dropped the floor “how ‘enlightened’. Much more advanced then these ‘savages’”

******

Alex sighed as she guzzled more crap DEO coffee, it had been...who knew how long since General Lane’s arrival, and so far he had done nothing, his efforts to question Non ended in nothing aside from an obvious headache as Non kept silent, and all the while Alex kept worrying herself into a near-panic, she _needed_ to get Astra back, because somehow, somewhere along the way, Astra had become her other half, she didn’t feel…complete without Astra by her side, and with every passing second, as the deadline grew closer and closer, the clock ticking down to zero hour, she knew that _something_ had to happen to make Non talk

“Agent Danvers,” she looked up at General Lane, who nodded at the chair across from hers “mind if I join you?” Alex shrugged

“Free country” she muttered as Lane sat down across from her

“When I was a boy,” he began “my daddy took me and my sister to the movies. Saw a picture called _‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’_ ”

“I’ve seen it” Alex grumbled, Lane nodded

“I’d figured as much,” he said “I had nightmares for months,” he chuckled “I know that may seem silly to you, but back then, it was terrifying for me,” he nodded to the monitors which showed Non, still sitting silently in his cell, while Lucy questioned him “whenever I look at one of them,” Lane continued “I am right back in that old theater, scared out of my wits, terrified”

“Is there a point to this story?” Alex wondered, Lane shrugged

“Lucy tells me that you don’t like me because of my views of Supergirl and her cousin,” he said “I figured you might appreciate knowing why I don’t trust them," he set down his coffee mug and leaned forward "even if we disagree on our views of aliens, I sincerely hope that we can work together in order to bring Director Inzeli back” he explained, Alex frowned at him, realizing that he was making a sincere effort at ‘playing nice’, as it were, with the DEO for Lucy’s sake if anything

“I was talking with Supergirl a while back,” she began “apparently on Krypton it was considered a sign of great courage and honor to admit your fears to your enemies, so…,” she turned to face him fully, looking him square in the eye “are you saying that you’re my enemy, General?” Lane chuckled

“You tell me, Agent Danvers” he said as he stood up and walked away

“Hey,” Alex looked up as Lucy sank down in the chair her father had just left “what’d he want?”

“Some stupid story from his childhood” Alex dismissed

“Ah, the ‘Day the Earth Stood Still’ one,” Lucy realized “you should hear him tell it when he’s drunk, it’s a lot more entertaining” Alex chuckled

“Anything?” she asked, Lucy shook her head “how much longer do we have on the deadline?”

“Four hours” Alex snarled in frustration and stood up, stalking down the corridor

******

Alex took a breath as the doors to Non’s cell slid open; he stood up upon seeing her, not out of respect she knew, but out of contempt

“Come to finally beat me, human?” he taunted, Alex turned, tapping in the commands and opening the cell, she watched as Non stiffened, unsettled by this change of events. Alex charged, slamming into him like a linebacker, knocking him the floor

“Where is she?!” she demanded, Non chuckled as he staggered to his feet

“Do you honestly believe that something like a simple beating will force me to talk?” he sneered “the only way she can be returned to you is if you make the trade,” Alex drew back a fist, punching him square in the solar plexus. Once he was down she quickly pinned him, pressing her knee into the small of his back “look at you,” Non hissed, making no effort to try to fight back or otherwise resist “all that rage, all that _hate_ , useless” snarling Alex shifted her weight, pressing her knee harder into his back which freed her hands for the task at hand

She held the loaded syringe in front of Non’s face, the contents glowing a sickly green, as she felt him stiffen beneath her, his body tensing in obvious fear “you don’t have the stomach for it” he hissed

“Try me” she hissed

“What are you doing?” she looked up, seeing Kara standing the doorway, Lucy right behind her

“Lane, get her out of here!” Alex snarled even as Kara stumbled, groaning in pain from the kryptonite

“She’s right,” Lucy grabbed Kara’s shoulders “it’s the lights” but Kara kept going, stumbling, staggering, and half crawling to the cell

“Kara, please…” Alex pleaded “…go” Kara grunted as Lucy managed to haul her upright, dragging her towards the door

“Alex, please! You’re better than this!”

“I wish I was” and as she pressed the needle into Non’s neck, as its poisonous contents emptied into his veins, she didn’t know what sounded worse.

Non’s screams of pain

Or Kara’s screams for her to stop…


	46. Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update

******

The third, and final, vial dropped to the floor with a clatter as Alex finished loading the syringe. She had long since become numb to Non’s agonized howls, her movements efficient, methodical.

Cold

She held the syringe up so that Non could see it

“Are you going to tell me what I want to know?” she asked, Non shook, trembled, twitched, and then finally nodded

Alex put down the syringe “start talking” she ordered

******

Alex jerked back as she all but ran into Vasquez as she exited Non’s cell

“Come with me” the Martian snarled

******

“Have you lost your mind?!” Susan demanded once the doors to the hologram room shut “torture?! Goddamn it Alex! I thought you were you better than this!”

“If you had the opportunity to get your people back,” Alex began “your family back, wouldn’t you do anything?”

“We’re not talking about me, Alex,” Susan snarled “we’re talking about you, and how you’ve just proven to Non that the entire human race is no better than animals. You don’t even know if the information he gave you is correct, it could be a trap for all we know”

“I’m not defending myself!” Alex argued “I just…,” she faulted “I _need_ her back, J’onn” she whispered, Susan snarled in frustration

“Doing it out of love doesn’t make it _right_ , Alex,” she snarled “it doesn’t change the fact that you just _tortured_ a sentient being,” she scowled and shook her head in clear disgust “your father would be ashamed of you”

******

“ _Echo Team, you are clear for weapons free engagement_ ” Lane instructed as the convoy of humvees rolled up to the location that Non had given, a shipping warehouse near the docks

“Sir, Supergirl’s on site” one soldier reported as Kara glided past them

“ _What the hell is she doing there?_ ” Lane demanded “ _this is a_ human _rescue operation!_ ”

“I called her” Lucy replied as the strike team—seven Army personal and two DEO agents, making nine in total—climbed out of the vehicles as Kara landed in front of them

“All the containers are lined with lead,” she explained “I can’t see inside any of them”

“All right Echo Team, check those containers, and watch your six” Lieutenant Ramirez—Lane’s choice to lead the rescue operation—ordered as he, Lucy, and Alex followed Kara to the nearest container. Kara used a quick blast of heat vision to melt the lock and then slowly pulled the doors open while Alex and the others raised their rifles, when nothing came flying out of it to kill them, they slowly walked inside

“Astra!” Kara moved forward at the sight of Astra still cuffed to that chair, but stopped, Alex felt something suddenly start screaming in the back of her mind as she noticed that Astra didn’t react at their presence, didn’t even move, just sat there, like an image. Her entire form suddenly flickered, vanishing, nothing more than a hologram, revealing a simple table with a large glowing red cylinder on top

“ _ **BOMB!!**_ ” Alex bellowed. Kara turned, pushing Lucy and the Lieutenant out of the container, and then dropped down and threw her cape over Alex as the bomb blew, triggering a chain reaction that obliterated the other four containers. As the explosion died down Alex took a breath and surveyed her surroundings, watching as Lieutenant Ramirez and Lucy got to their feet

“No,” Ramierz murmured as he looked around at the carriage, stunned “my men…”

“It was a trap,” Lucy panted out, cradling her left arm “Non played us”

******

“ _Six_ of my men are dead,” Lane growled out “my daughter has a broken arm, Non is next”

“Killing the prisoner won’t change what happened” Alex pointed out

“It will show the enemy that there are consequences for their actions”

“There’ll be consequences for Astra too!” Kara argued “if you kill Non, they kill her”

“This is a _military matter_ ,” Lane mocked “I am not interested in your strategic insights”

“Supergirl is the only reason we have any survivors left!” Alex all but shouted “we need her if we’re going to have any chance of getting Director Inzeli back!”

“I’m surprised at you, Agent Danvers,” Lane remarked “I didn’t think you’d go soft all of a sudden”

“That’s _enough_ , Dad,” Lucy sighed “she made a mistake, and now she has to live with it, that’s punishment enough” Lane scowled at Kara

“When she fails, Non dies” he declared before he stalked off

“I’m sorry you had to defend me to him” Alex sighed to Lucy

“Don’t be,” Lucy said “just get her back”

******

“Come to torture me again?” Non rasped out as Alex walked into the cell

“If it were up to me you’d rot in this cell forever,” she muttered “but its not,” she tapped in the commands and opened the cell, she held up the kryptonite cuffs “get up”

******

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lane demanded as Alex, Lucy, and Kara marched Non into Command

“Making a prisoner exchange” Kara explained

“The hell you are” Lane’s men stepped forward, guns raised, while the three DEO agents escorting the unlikely foursome raised their own guns

“Let us pass, General” Alex requested

“That alien is the _enemy_ , Agent Danvers” he reminded her

“Your orders were to bring Director Inzeli home,” Lucy pointed out “that’s what we’re doing”

“They take one more step and my men will put them down” Lane threatened

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that” Kara said, she smirked at Lieutenant Ramirez, who sighed and lowered his rifle, gesturing for the rest of his men to do so as well

“She saved my life, sir,” he pointed out “and your daughter’s” with a sigh Lane quietly ordered his men to stand down

“How do you know that Ursa won’t betray you?” he asked as they turned to leave

“We don’t,” Kara pointed out “we just have faith”

******

“The deadline is _passed!!_ ” Ursa snarled

“Well,” Astra sighed “I don’t see Non anywhere around here, looks like it’s just you and me. Want to order a pizza?” Ursa gripped her hair and pulled her head back, placing the tip of a large knife to her temple

“I am going to kill you… _slowly!_ ” she hissed

“You’re welcome to try!” Astra snarled

“ _Lieutenant Ursa,_ ” Alex’s voice suddenly called out, Ursa froze “ _we’re ready to make the trade_ ”

******

“Question,” Lucy began quietly as the fleet of SUV’s came to a stop at the exchange point “why is Agent Vasquez here?”

“Because we might need her help if they decide to scramble our drones or satellites” Alex explained as they climbed out, and they might need a Martian on their side if things went south she added silently

“They’re here” Kara announced as she landed. Behind her, about ten feet or so, Ursa suddenly landed with a bang, cracking the concrete. With a grunt she gave Astra a shove

“Go” she ordered as Alex uncuffed Non, the two of them calmly passed each other without a glance, complete and total strangers to each other

“It’s good to have you back” Alex said as Astra stepped over the invisible line onto their side

“When this is over,” she began “remind me to give you a refresher course on our policy of negotiating with terrorists,” she smirked “but for now I’ll just say ‘thanks’”

“Something’s wrong” Kara suddenly muttered, Astra frowned as several figures in black suddenly streaked across the sky, swiftly surrounding the DEO agents from all sides

“Prepare to attack!” Non ordered, the Kryptonians surrounding them began to move closer, their eyes lighting up with the glow of heat vision

“We’re surrounded,” Alex realized, she turned to Susan “you have to transform” she pleaded

“Easy,” Astra soothed “put your weapons down”

“What?” Alex demanded

“You heard me,” Astra confirmed “put your weapons down. All of you, that’s an order,” slowly one by one the agents put their weapons down “your Lieutenant’s been telling me what an honorable man you are, Non,” Astra called out “tell me, is there honor in killing unarmed men?” Non scowled

“We must strike now!” Ursa hissed, Non’s scowl deepened

“Withdraw!” he finally ordered, the Kryptonians swiftly broke off, disappearing into the night, Ursa swiftly following. Non, now all alone, turned and looked Astra square in the eye “this is not a truce” he declared

“Call it a ‘temporary ceasefire’ if it makes you feel better” Astra called back

“When we next meet, I will not be so lenient” Non snarled, then he shot up into the sky...


	47. Justifiable Means

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's an update to Strange Visitor I hope everybody's been waiting for, up next...more angst!

******

“You’ve only delayed the inevitable,” Lane proclaimed as Alex and Kara escorted Astra back into the DEO, Lucy and Vasquez quietly trailing behind “this enemy _cannot_ be reasoned with”

“And ‘hello’ to you too, General,” Astra quipped as he continued stuffing file folders into briefcases “as for this, we prefer a more thoughtful approach here at the DEO. Which reminds me,” she snapped one of the briefcases on the operations table shut and slid it towards him “your presence here is no longer required. You can tell Washington about how _my_ agents succeeded in completing _your_ mission. And, please, don't forget to thank them on the way out” Lane scowled as he took the case from her

"Their idealism will doom this planet" he warned 

"No," Astra shook her head "that's what will save it" she proclaimed, still scowling, Lane turned and stalked out

“So…,” Kara began once the last soldier had filled out “what did Alex mean when she said that Vasquez needed to ‘transform’?”

“Or did you forget that we were standing right there?” Lucy added, Astra sighed and scowled at Alex

******

“You’re from _Mars?!_ ” Kara and Lucy exclaimed as the doors to the hologram room slid open

“You and Astra are from Krypton” Susan pointed out as Astra and Alex followed her inside

“But…why hide?” Kara wondered

“When Jeremiah Danvers was recruited, or should I say, blackmailed, by Hank Henshaw, your cousin asked me to keep an eye on him,” Susan explained “after he died and Astra took over, he asked me to stay around and keep an eye on her”

“Why would he do that?” Lucy wondered

“Call it parole” Astra explained, Lucy’s eyes widened

“You…you were a prisoner in Fort Rozz?” she squeaked

“I was, yes,” Astra confirmed “after it crashed here, the prisoners scattered, I ended up in the Pacific Northwest, where I saved the life of one Jeremiah Danvers, who died trying to keep Henshaw from killing me” she explained

“So, you and Non…?”

“My ex-husband”

“I…need to sit down” Lucy sat down on the pedestal in the center of the room looking dazed

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kara wondered “I mean I get why you didn’t tell Lucy--”

“Hey!”

“…but you could’ve told me, you know, I mean I _can_ keep a secret”

“No, you can’t!” the others exclaimed simultaneously, Kara’s eyes suddenly widened

“Oh my god!” she groaned “I completely forgot!”

“Forgot what?” Alex asked

“Ms. Grant…thinks I’m Supergirl”

“She _**what?!**_ ” Kara cringed

“She doesn’t _know_ that I’m Supergirl, not yet anyway, but she suspects”

“I can fix that” Susan assured her

“You?” Lucy echoed “how?”

“I’m a shapeshifter,” Susan shrugged, she nodded to the doors “come on” both still looking a little dazed and bug-eyed Lucy and Kara uncertainly shuffled out after her. Alex moved to follow but was stopped by Astra’s hand on her shoulder

“I trusted you,” Astra whispered “I trusted you to remain objective, to not let your emotions cloud your judgment,” she angry raked her hand through her hair as she began to pace “did you even _think_ that maybe, just maybe, that Non had been trained to resist torture, that he had a contingency plan?” she turned to face Alex “six people are _dead_ , Alex, because of _you_ , because of your reckless behavior”

“I just...I needed you back” Alex whispered

“Damn it, Alex! My life is not worth that! No one’s is!” she took a breath “I will _never_ forgive you for this!" she hissed, with that she turned on her heel and began to march out…

******

_”Astra, please look at me,” Alura implored “I believe you,” she whispered, Astra slowly turned to face her “I believe Krypton faces annihilation, and far sooner than anyone here will admit” Alura continued_

_“Then why condemn me?” Astra demanded_

_“Because you_ killed _people, Astra. No mater what noble goals you hid behind, nothing will ever change that fact,” Alura shook her head “and I am bound by more than blood in this court. But I promise you I will fight for your cause,” she blinked away her tears “not through…fear and manipulation, but through compassion and reason. It is the only hope to save our world,” she reached, tenderly brushing her finger against Astra’s cheek, tears in her eyes, before she stepped back towards the controls “I love you, Astra” she whispered as she shut her eyes and activated the beam…_

******

Astra paused in the doorway. She sucked in a harsh breath and angry slammed her fist down on the wall, denting it, she couldn’t condone what Alex did, and she couldn’t say she agreed with it

But she understood it. She, more than most, understood all too well how that kind of desperation to save those you loved could drive you to do terrible things, how it had driven _her_. Sighing, she turned back to face Alex, slowly she walked up to her, gently cupping her cheek, brushing her tears away

“ _Oh, you stupid girl_ ” she sighed, with a sob Alex buried her face in Astra’s shoulder

“I can still hear him screaming!” she sobbed as she clung to Astra desperately, she gulped in air desperately, clearly on the verge of a panic attack "oh god! What did I _do?!?!?!?_ " she wailed, Astra said nothing as she continued rubbing circles along Alex's back, what could she say? She couldn’t condone it, she never could, but she _understood_ it, all too well.

Perhaps that was all that really mattered


	48. Broken Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra and Alex try to find out what Maxwell Lord is planning and try to salvage what they had. AU of "Childish Things"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!!! Ha! a bit of backstory here, I'm going under the idea, that following Astra's return last chapter, that Lucy now knows that she and Alex are dating and thus why Alex tortured Non, also, this will be focusing on the B plot from "Childish Things", so while Alex and Astra are running around after Max Kara and Winn are doing exactly what they did in the actual episode. Anyway, onwards!

******

Kara laughed as she glided up next to Astra

“How much fun is this?” she called out over the wind, Astra smirked

“This isn’t about fun, little one” she reminded her

“ _ **Your aunt’s right,**_ ” J’onn J’onzz agreed as he came up next to them “ _ **this is the only chance we have to train you in proper flight technique,**_ ” he explained

“But,” Astra called out “that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves,” she grinned as she tapped Kara on the arm “you’re it!” she proclaimed before she shot forward with a supersonic boom…

Down on the ground, watching all of this through a high-powered monocular, Alex could help but grin, enjoying how… _free_ both Kara and Astra looked, how free even J’onn looked, as they glided to a stop and landed, J’onn automatically shifting back into Susan Vasquez before his feet had even touched the ground

“You know, you two could feel like that all the time,” Kara hinted “free. Un-tethered. True to who you really are…”

“You know why we can’t do that,” Astra dismissed “the world needs ‘Astra Inzeli’ and ‘Susan Vasquez’ more than it needs ‘Astra In-Ze’ or ‘J’onn J’onzz’”

“OK,” Alex began as she walked up to the three “Lucy and I have pinpointed the location of Room 52 at Lord Technologies. Assuming that we can trust James Olsen’s intel”

“Superman trust’s him, that’s good enough for me” Susan said

“ _Supergirl_ trust’s him,” Alex corrected her “that’s more than good enough”

“If you’re planning on infiltrating Lord Tech, I want in,” Kara said “Maxwell Lord beat James to a pulp for finding Room 52” she growled out “what could he be hiding in there?” she wondered “what’s he planning?”

“We will find out,” Astra assured her “but it’ll require subtly and discretion. Not a red cape”

“Couldn’t it also require a bit of Martian manpower?” Alex wondered

“That’s not an option” Susan dismissed

“Seconded,” Astra agreed “the less people know about the existence of the two of us, the better”

“You know,” Kara began “when I first came out as Supergirl, I was scared, terrified, but it turned out to be one of the best things I ever did”

“That’s you” Susan remarked as she walked away

“She’s right,” Astra said as they all watched the Martian walk away to join Lucy by the SUV in the distance “we’re not like you, Kara, we don’t want to put on a red cape and become a public spectacle”

“You can’t let your fear control you” Kara pointed out, Astra chuckled somewhat bitterly

“You give me far too much credit” she said

“Because I know you” Kara insisted, Astra shook her head

“The woman you knew died on Krypton,” she explained “she died in Fort Rozz, all I am is her ashes” 

“I don’t believe that” Alex said firmly, Astra smirked and shook her head

“I am not worth your faith” she said

“Everyone deserves faith,” Kara insisted “even you, Astra” Astra smirked as she reached out and a brushed a lock of hair away from Kara’s face

“You’re so much like your mother,” she whispered “even in the end, she never stopped believing in me”


	49. War Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J'onn and Astra have a talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's an update to Strange Visitor! And to RenaM and - so sorry about the mix up, so while you folks enjoy this, I'll be wiping the egg off my face :=)

******

“If we’re going to get inside Lord Technologies, we cut the power to the rear of the lab, and infiltrate the basement” Susan explained, as she, Alex, and Lucy crowded around a tablet PC in the hologram room

“While the emergency generators kick in and his private army pounces on us?” Alex shook her head “this isn’t the way in, Susan”

“You have a better idea” the Martian grumbled

“You are the greatest asset we have, and nobody knows about it,” Alex stated bluntly, she grabbed her arm as she turned to leave “all these weapons, and computers, even Astra, they’re _nothing_ compared to you” she pointed out

“I _can’t_ keep using my powers,” Susan dismissed “it’s too much of a risk!” she hissed, mindful of open corridors and the fact that anybody could walk by at any second

“It is _our job_ to take risks,” Alex argued “we run _into_ the line of fire, we face enemies that no one on this planet has the courage to face”

“And best way for us to fight them is to be at the DEO,” Susan pointed out “and I can’t _be_ at the DEO if I’m an alien. And if I go, how long do you think it’ll be until Astra goes?”

“You _saw_ what Maxwell Lord did to James” Lucy pointed out

“You know what he’s capable of,” Alex added, temporarily stamping down the shiver that shot down her spine at the thought of Astra being dragged away by somebody like General Lane for ‘study’ “you know he’s after my sister” she added

“I have _been_ J’onn J’onzz on Earth before,” Susan growled “I have tired it. I was hunted for fifty years. People I loved have tried to kill me once they found out what I really am”

“I’m sorry,” Alex said softly, and she meant it “but times have changed. Look at Supergirl, people love her, and if they knew about Astra they’d probably feel the same way”

“I can’t believe that you’re that naïve,” Susan scoffed “your sister looks like a pretty blonde cheerleader, and Astra looks like a Paris runway model. J’onn J’onzz looks like a monster. I will never be tolerated here on Earth. The more time I spend as ‘Susan Vasquez’ the less I have to face what I’ve lost,” she turned to leave, but paused “when I change my state,” she began “shapeshift into someone new, call upon new powers…I get one step closer to becoming the Martian Manhunter forever. And he creates fear and hysteria. I _know_ , I’ve seen it. It’s not only that I’m better off as human. Everyone is”

“Except Kara,” Alex pointed out “she _needs_ your help” Susan shook her head and stalked away

******

“J’onn?” Astra slowed her pace as she walked along the sands towards the Martian, who sitting at the edge of the cliff face looking out at the sunset

“If you’re trying to convince me,” Susan sighed “I already told Alex ‘no’, so unless you want to order me to do it, I’m staying right here”

“I’m not going to order you,” Astra sighed as she sat down next to her “I’m _asking_ , J’onn, not for myself, not for Alex, but for Kara”

“ _Why_ do you keep persisting?” J’onn demanded

“Because I wasn’t the only one who Jeremiah Danvers asked to look after his daughters…”

******

**Ten years ago…**

_”Mind if I join you?” J’onn asked, Jeremiah looked up from where he was sitting, looking up at the full moon_

_“Hey, no, sure,” he scooted over slightly and allowed Susan to sit down next to him “beer?” he offered_

_“Don’t you have a mission in a few hours?” she asked, taking the bottle regardless_

_“Ginger beer,” he said “completely non-alcoholic. Which is unfortunate, because I could_ really _use a drink right about now”_

_“Yeah, I heard what Henshaw said to you today about this mission,” she nodded “he’s a sorry excuse for a human being” she spat out, Jeremiah chuckled_

_“That means a lot coming from the Martian in the room” he said, she shrugged_

_“I’m over three hundred years old, Jeremiah, I’ve seen a lot of what human beings are capable of, good and bad” she replied, Jeremiah sighed_

_“He just doesn’t_ get it _,” he groaned “if this alien really is Kryptonian, and really is a general, think of what we could_ learn _, about their technology, their society, culture, arts”_

_“All Henshaw cares about is adding another trophy to his belt,” Susan explained as she took a sip of her ginger beer “nothing more, nothing less” for a moment silence passed between the two of them as they both stared up at the stars_

_“Susan…,” Jeremiah began “J’onn,” he corrected himself “if…something….happens to me tonight…I’d like you to do something for me”_

_“What makes you think that something’s going to happen?” Jeremiah shrugged_

_“I don’t know, just…a feeling,” he admitted “anyway, if something…_ does _happen to me, and I don’t come back, I’d….I’d like you to look after my girls for me” he held out the snapshot to her, Susan sat up, staring at him in disbelief as she gently took the photo from him_

_“I…don’t know what to say” she finally got out_

_“Please,” Jeremiah requested “you don’t, you know, have be a part of their lives, but just….keep an eye on them, like Superman asked you to do for me” Susan looked down at the photo, lightly running a finger over the image_

_“Kara and Alex, right?” she asked, Jeremiah nodded “I too had daughters,” she gave him a bittersweet smile “I’ll do what you ask, if it comes to that” Jeremiah nodded_

_“Thank you, J’onn”_

******

_”Welcome to the DEO, Director Inzeli” J’onn greeted a few weeks later_

_“Thank you, Agent…?”_

_“Vasquez, ma’am,” J’onn replied, letting his eyes glow briefly “Susan Vasquez. Superman told us to expect you”_

_“So he did,” Astra replied without a hint of fear or apprehension at the sight of the disguised Martian in front of her. She glanced around “well, shall we get started?”_

_“This way, ma’am, I’ll show to your office” J’onn explained…_

******

“I thought you didn’t want anyone finding out about the two of us?” J’onn pointed out

“I didn’t,” Astra agreed “but Jeremiah gave his life to protect his daughters, his last request was that we both look out for them,” she pointed out “since that day we both have been trying to honor that sacrifice, to honor his memory, to keep those girls—his daughter and my niece—safe. But if Maxwell Lords finishes whatever he’s planning Kara’s life will undoubtedly be in danger, and Jeremiah’s sacrifice will have all been for naught,” she slowly stood up “I know you don’t want to go back being hunted by the likes of Henshaw, J’onn, but consider this, whose to say that Maxwell Lord won’t do the exact same thing to you once he’s through with Kara?”


	50. Mata Hari

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex has a 'date' with Maxwell Lord and J'onn does something he'll regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Welcome to Chapter Fifty of Strange Visitor!! That's 50, 5-0, halfway to one hundred (YAY!) which means that this is the longest fic I've ever written, anyway, hope you folks enjoy this update

******

“ _What are you today?_ ” Maxwell Lord wondered “ _CIA? IRS? Want to see my 1040s?_ ”

“Shut up and listen,” Alex snapped “we need to talk. In private. Off the record. Lay everything out on the table”

“ _Sounds remarkably like a date,_ ” Lord commented “ _what does your boss, the lovely Agent Inzeli, think?_ ”

“My boss isn’t always willing to take the necessary steps to get the job done”

“ _You’re going rouge. How fun,_ ” Lord chuckled “ _how do I know I can trust you?_ ”

“You don’t” Lord chuckled again

“ _See you tonight_ ” Alex hung up and turned to Susan

“I’ll have him out of Lord Tech until ten, but his employees and security people will still be there” she explained, Susan nodded slowly

“I have it covered” Alex raised an eyebrow

“You?” she wondered “or J’onn J’onzz?” Susan just shook her head and walked away

“You seem oddly troubled for someone who’s having dinner with one of National City’s most eligible bachelors” Astra commented as she came to up Alex, Alex smirked

“Right now I feel less like a woman going on a date and more like a five dollar whore” she muttered, Astra shook her head

“You’re not a whore,” she said firmly, she leaned in, her eyes twinkling “ _you’re Mata Hari,_ ” she whispered, she winked as she pulled back “remember that”

******

At exactly seven fifty, Alex marched into Lord’s penthouse suite, she’d squeezed her feet into the highest pair of heels she could find in the DEO closet as well as the slinkiest dress she could find. Lord turned from where he’d been uncorking a champagne bottle. He frowned at her

“You’re staring” she said as she put on her best fake smile

“Just wondering where you’re hiding your gun under that dress” Lord answered as he walked over and handed her a champagne flute

“Behave and you won’t find out” Alex took the glass and took a very light sip

******

For the next hour she sat patiently listening to Lord boast about what high-quality (i.e. expensive) food he’d gotten, including snail eggs, which Alex had just managed to swallow. Frankly, she was really starting to miss Astra’s home cooked steak dinners with baked potatoes and grilled cauliflower. She’d asked him flat out at the alien attack on his lab which he swiftly deflected into a question about her connection to Supergirl.

“Funny you should mention danger and aliens and not a word about Supergirl” Lord commented

“She saves lives” Alex dismissed

“ _You_ save lives,” Lord pointed out “and you worked to get your powers, you didn’t just wake one morning and get them just because the sun shines. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Why are you so obsessed with her?” Alex wondered “are you secretly in love with her? Or are you threatened by her because she’s a woman?”

“Only a woman would ask that,” Lord chuckled, he shook his head “tell me your connection with Supergirl” he asked point blank

“The government has a…professional partnership with her” Alex explained, Lord nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer for the moment

“The aliens didn’t take anything, I have everything in my lab itemized, nothing’s missing”

“Then why were they there?” Alex wondered

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Lord chuckled “you seem to know more about them than I do,” he flashed her another of what he thought was a charming grin and held up his glass in a toast “to Alex Danvers. A hero in her own right” Alex clinked her glass against his and then glanced at her phone

8:04

******

At that exact moment another 'Maxwell Lord' rounded the corner of Lord Technologies lower levels

“Mr. Lord,” J’onn J’onzz turned “I thought you had a date with Agent Danvers this evening” J’onn, now safely in Maxwell Lord’s form, nodded politely at the young woman

“I ended the evening early,” J’onn replied, doing a discrete mental scan on the woman “to be honest, it was a little disappointing”

“As long as we’re being honest,” the woman, who's name he now knew was 'Paula', began “she _did_ strike me as a little humorless for you”

“She’s actually a lovely woman, if anything it was my narcissism and unkempt facial hair that ruined any chances I had with her”

“I’m sure you weren’t at fault, sir” J’onn nodded

“Getting so soundly rejected has caused me to reconsider many of my life choices,” he explained “I think I need to be alone, if you don’t mind” looking a little confused, Paula nodded and quietly walked away

“ _Very nice,_ ” Astra drawled over the comm. “ _why don’t you just hang a sign around your neck that says ‘imposter’?_ ”

“Shut _up_ , Astra,” J’onn muttered “I’m at the door” he placed a hand on the access panel

“ _Access denied,_ ” a computer chirped, scowling, J’onn tried again “ _access denied_ ” J’onn had to chuckle

“You can take the Martain off of Mars…,” glancing around to make sure he wasn’t being observed he quickly phased through the door, taking a breath as he resolidyfied on the other side. There was a crackle of static over the comm., Lord had no doubt had the room shielded against any incoming or outgoing transmissions, as they expected.

Pulling out his phone, or rather ‘Susan Vasquez’s’ phone, he looked around for anything incriminating, but the only thing that was in the otherwise empty room was a single hospital bed. A young woman lay unconscious on it, an IV filled with some kind of dark liquid was hooked to her arm, along with an armband which only read ‘Jane Doe’. Frowning, J’onn examined the monitors, which were measuring her vitals, everything was normal, except for her brain activity which was minimal, J’onn jerked as her eyes suddenly flew open, her eyes completely black “what is his doing to you?” J’onn wondered. The door suddenly banged open

“Freeze!!” J’onn spun around, a startled-looking security guard stood there “Mr. Lord, I’m sorry, sir, silent alarm went off” he explained as he reholistered his gun

“It’s all right,” J’onn replied “I was just checking on her"

“I’ll leave you alone”

“Actually,” J’onn called out as the guard turned to leave “I’m a bit worried about her condition, I’d like to have her examined by a doctor off-site, get an ambulance over here” if they could get this girl to the DEO in time, they might not only be able to help her, but also find out what Lord was planning

“But, sir, she’s Code Phoenix” the guard objected

“I’m aware of that” the guard frowned

“Sir,” he began “would mind telling what Code Phoenix is?” his hand slid onto his gun

“No problem,” J’onn lunged, delivering a quick one-two combination that knocked the guard to the floor

“Please. Don’t kill me” the man begged as J’onn held the man at gunpoint with his own gun

“Somehow I get the feeling you won’t keep quiet about this” J’onn sighed, he shifted again, shedding Maxwell Lord’s borrowed features for the familiar face of Susan Vasquez

“Who are you?” the guard demanded as he stared into still-glowing red eyes

“No one you’ll remember,” J’onn answered grimly, he placed a hand on the man’s forehead and _pushed_ out with his mind, pulling back a few seconds later, knowing that he had gone too far. Sighing, he placed the gun back in the man’s hands hand and tried to make his as comfortable as possible. Standing up, he paused at the sight of the Jane Doe on the gurney “I’ll come back for you,” he vowed “I promise”

With he slipped out of the room and disappeared…

******

Alex sighed as she padded on stocking feet into the hologram room

“Wearing _these_ is as painful as getting punched by a Kryptonian” she held up her shoes

“How would you know?” Astra wondered “have you ever been punched by a Kryptonian?” Alex rolled her eyes

“Please tell me you found something?”

“I got some good shots” Susan nodded to the monitors

“What’s in that IV?” Alex wondered as she sat down

“My guess is a combination of sodium sulfite and a sodium iodate” Astra explained

“The byproduct of which would hydrochloric acid,” Alex nodded “she’d be melting into goo” Susan shrugged

“Her vitals were stable, minimal brain activity, Lord’s keeping her alive somehow, but for what?” she shook her head “we don’t know”

“I’m guessing you shapeshifted to get in?” Alex wondered, Susan nodded, that familiar darkness clouding her features “but there’s more, isn’t there?”

“I told you if I used my powers someone was going to get hurt” Susan snarled

“What did you do?” Alex wondered, her gaze flickering between Susan and Astra

“Something I swore that I would never do again” Alex watched as Susan stood up and swiftly marched out of the room. She glanced up at Astra, who softly shook her head

“Not my place to say” she said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although Mata Hari is often portrayed as this seductress who ensnared men and dragged them to their doom as a spy during World War I, the reality is far more tradgic. In 1916, her Russian lover, a pilot by the name of Vadim Manslov, was shot down in a dogfight with German fighters, as a result Mata Hari (real name Zelle) asked to be allowed to visit him in the hospital were he was recovering, since her home nation of the Netherlands was neutral in the war, she would not be allowed to visit him, French intelligence agents met with her and told her that she could only visit him if she agreed to spy on Germany for France, and the rest is history until her execution by firing squad in France on espionage charges for Germany on October 17th 1917


	51. God Complexes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Kara share a moment and then Alex tries figure out how Astra could still love her after what happened with Non

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's an update to Strange Visitor, I'm sorry for waiting so long, but here we are...hope everyone enjoys this update!

******

“Did you forget about tonight?” Alex as Kara _finally_ flew in through the window “you know, _Game of Thrones_ and a double cheese pizza?” she hinted

“Sorry,” Kara sighed as she grabbed a drink from the fridge “I was out and I guess I lost track of time”

“Yeah,” Alex sighed as she set the pizza box down “I heard about what happened with Winn and his…father. Sorry I wasn’t there to back you up” she apologized, Kara sighed as she shrugged off her boots and flopped down onto the couch, tugging the throw off the back of the couch and throwing it over her legs

“I made a mistake,” she began as Alex snuggled down next to her, tugging the throw over her own legs “with Winn,” Kara added “I might have ruined something, and now I don’t know how fix it”

“Well, it’s not like he kissed you and you freaked out about it” Alex waved a hand while Kara stared at her with wide eyes

“What? How did you…?”

“Well, I _am_ an elite government agent who’s a trained expert in reading body language,” she smiled softly at her sister “I’m also a human being with eyes” she explained, Kara sighed

“You should seen the _look_ on his face” she sighed as Alex tore off a slice of pizza and handed it Kara

“Well, here’s to the Danvers sisters,” she sighed as Kara munched on her pizza “we should come with a warning. I got Susan…J’onn…to use her powers today”

“That’s great!” Kara cheered around her mouthful of pizza, she frowned “that’s not great?”

“She won’t tell me,” Alex sighed “Astra won’t either, but sounds like Susan did something, something bad, and I pushed her into it”

“You? Pushy?” Kara teased, Alex had to chuckle “so, did you get any intel on Max?” she asked

“I did,” Alex confirmed “but I had to eat slugs to get it,” Kara stared at her “I let him wine and dine me” she sighed

“Alex!” Kara sat up “Alex, that man is a monster! You should’ve told me! I could’ve been there to back you up!” Alex shook her head

“Maxwell Lord is nothing more than a reformed nerd with a god complex,” she dismissed “just like…every guy I dated in collage. Trust me, there’s nothing that he can do that I won’t see coming a mile away” she explained

“Oh! It’s starting!” Kara grinned and lunged for the remote and turned on the TV, and, for now at least, Alex could ignore the fact that Maxwell Lord was probably watching her right now…

******

“Do you think I should have told her about the camera?” Alex wondered, in the darkness she heard Astra sigh

“If you tell her, she’ll only either panic or go after him in a blind rage and get herself and others hurt” Astra explained

“I still don’t like lying to her” Alex sighed

“I know you do, love,” she felt Astra’s fingers brush across her cheek “but, by lying to her, you may very well saving her life”

“That doesn’t make me feel better,” Alex grumbled “Astra?” she asked softly, at Astra’s quiet ‘hmm?’ she sighed “why did you come here tonight?” she wondered “why do you keep coming? After what I…did?” Astra sighed

“What you did to Non was wrong,” Astra began “but your reasons for doing it were honorable, and while that doesn’t make it right, it’s all that matters to me”

“I don’t know how you can still…care for me after that”

“You once told me that love is blind,” Astra began “it’s true”

“I don’t deserve you” Alex whispered

“Perhaps not,” Astra agreed “but I think you need me all the same”


	52. Red Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past can come back to haunt you. AU of "Strange Visitor from Another Planet"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's a double update of Strange Visitor, hope everybody likes it

******

“So, where’d put ‘em?” Alex asked as she scanned the _Tribune’s_ headline: ‘Supergirl Rescue’s Family of Four from Forest Fire’

“By a very nice lake with no fire” Kara answered

“OK, so what happened to your post-rescue swagger? Winn’s still not talking to you?” Kara groaned

“I wish he never kissed me, I wish I never hurt his feelings,” she sighed “I want my friend back” she pouted

“Just give him space and time”

“I hate space and time” Kara pouted as they walked into Noonan’s where Alex took a moment to text Lucy about drinks tonight and watched as some guy flittered with a totally oblivious Kara

“I think that latté’s ready” she finally called out

“Oh” Kara squeaked as she said goodbye to her new admirer

“Please tell me you realized that guy was flittering with you” she sighed, Kara giggled

“What? No, I would not call that flirting,” Kara scoffed “he was nice, friendly”

“Oh, you’re hopeless” Alex sighed as they stopped by the big screen TV set up in one corner

" _National City police are anticipating huge crowds at Senator Miranda Crane’s anti-alien rally this afternoon,_ ” the newscaster was saying “ _Senator Crane is a vocal and outspoken member of the larger anti-alien movement, which began soon after Superman revealed himself to the world. Among other topics Senator Crane is expected to discuss, is National City’s own alien resident, Supergirl_ ” both Alex and Kara groaned

“I _hate_ her” Kara whined

“I know,” Alex sighed “I hate the fact that I’ve got to play bodyguard for her today” Kara blinked at her

“You do?” she asked, Alex nodded

“Astra seems to think she might be a target for an attack by extremists on both sides,” she explained as her phone chirped “speaking of which. Duty calls”

“See ya” Kara sighed

“Hey,” Alex called out “remember what I said, space and time” Kara rolled her eyes

“Just get outta here!” she grinned

******

“You seem pretty sure there’s going to be an attack” Alex commented as she came up to Astra, ducking and dodging other agents as Command bustled in a flurry of activity

“I just feel the woman’s a high profile target” Astra dismissed

“You feel as in a garden variety hunch…or a superpower kinda of hunch?” Alex wondered, Astra scowled

“You need a hobby,” she grumbled “have you considered taking up knitting?” she added as she turned and examined a map of the city

“It seems to me that if we’re going all out to protect a woman whose views on alien come out of the dark ages, then you must be pretty sure there’s going to be an attack”

“It’s just a hunch, Alex,” Astra dismissed “we don’t get to choose who we protect”

“I’m sorry you have to listen to people like her,” Alex sighed “that both you and Kara have to listen to people like her” Astra shrugged

“It’s worth it,” she dismissed “for people like you” Alex had to smile

“Ahem!” they both turned to see Susan Vasquez standing next to them “either of you up for talking or do you want me to come back later when you’re done?”

“What is it, Susan?” Astra sighed

“The park,” Susan explained, she held out her tablet “there’s already so many people there, the amount of cell phone and Wi-Fi signals are jamming our satellites, we won’t be able to do aerial scans for non-human signatures”

“How many people are there?” Alex wondered

“Over four hundred and growing” Susan explained

“The rally doesn’t began for at least another hour” Alex exclaimed

“People like Senator Crane have a way of attracting people,” Astra muttered “is there a way to work around this problem?” she asked, Susan nodded

“I’d have to be there on site with you, but yeah, I think I can work around the problem”

“Good,” Astra said “you could use the sun”

******

Susan had been right; the park was crowded, packed. The people there to support the Senator was surprisingly large, at least if the picket signs reading ‘aliens go home’ and ‘earth for humans only’ were any indication, there only seemed to a very small amount of people actually protesting, clustered on the outer edges of the rally in small, but enthusiastic, clumps

“Thank you all for coming,” Senator Crane said as the crowd cheered as she stepped up to the podium “aliens. Extraterrestrials. Non-humans,” she began “whether they are wearing a red cape or not, they are threat to this country, our freedom, and our lives. Starting today, we need solutions”

“Jesus” Alex groaned, appalled at the spectacle around her, as the crowd burst into raucous cheers

“Perimeter’s clear” Susan announced, tugging at the collar of her FBI windbreaker

“Check again,” Astra ordered firmly “Agent Danvers?”

“No anomalous heat signatures” Alex reported

“Keep looking”

“…we need to know where they live, what they do and _who_ they eat,” Senator Crane continued “most importantly, we stop them from landing in our country. If it takes a dome, then let’s build a dome. It’s time to stop talking and start acting. Monsters are coming for your families” one her bodyguards—a six foot tall man who was built like a refrigerator--was suddenly flung about ten feet into the crowd, people jerked back as the other bodyguard was suddenly lifted up, something big and definitely _not human_ holding him up like a rag doll

“I _hate_ it when I’m right!” Astra snarled as she, Alex, and Susan charged forward into the panicking crowd

“Everybody get down!!” Alex yelled as the creature shot through the crowd at superspeed, tossing aside people like they were nothing, seeming to be heading after the Senator as her bodyguards ushered her towards a nearby parking garage. The creature suddenly landed in front of her, killing her two bodyguards with some kind of breath attack

“Astra?” Alex asked

“I can’t get a clear shot” the Kryptonian snarled “Susan?” she turned, frowning at the sight of Susan seeming frozen there as the creature easily flipped a car like a toy

“Get down!!” Alex grunted as she grabbed Susan and shoved the woman out of the way, looking back up as the alien grabbed the Senator like a toy and sped into parking garage

“It’s Supergirl!” someone called out as a familiar streak of red and blue shot into the parking garage

“Supergirl, do you have a visual?” Alex demanded over her comm. “Supergirl, it is down there?!”

“ _No,_ ” Kara sighed “ _it’s gone_ ”


	53. Crimson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J'onn has to face his past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's another update to Strange Visitor, hope you all enjoy!

******

“Get the Senator back to base now!” Astra barked out as more DEO agents—also disguised as FBI agents—ushered a protesting Senator Crane into a waiting SUV

“What the hell was that thing?” Alex wondered

“A creature that doesn’t leave any survivors,” Susan answered grimly “we have to move her now, before it comes back”

“What did it do to you?” Alex wondered

“Nothing, I’m fine” she answered

“No, you’re not, you froze,” Astra pointed out “what happened?”

“I _said_ I’m fine!” Susan snarled, angrily stalking away from the other two women. Alex frowned at Astra

“What the hell happened?” she demanded

“I don’t know” Astra admitted

******

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Senator Crane snarled a few minutes later as Astra, Alex, Kara, and a still silent Susan escorted her into the DEO “you people royally fucked up is what happened. And I will not be kept here” she spat

“Madam Senator, it’s for you own protection, I assure you,” Astra answered “I know your friend Sam Lane talks a lot of crap about the DEO, but we are here to help”

“The General tells me that for all your big talk about monitoring aliens you’re the first ones to let ‘em in the front door” she spat out in response, sending a scowl in Kara’s direction

“I guess you’re forgetting the part where I _saved your ass_ ” Kara scoffed as the group came to a stop in the middle of the room

“Hmm, for all I know you all planned that little stunt,” the Senator retorted, glowering at Kara “it’s just like an alien” she sneered

“Excuse me?” Kara scoffed, staring at her open-mouthed

“You’re all the same,” Crane scoffed “disgusting insects who come crawling from your own diseased, backwater planets looking to suck up our resources for yourselves” she yelped as Alex stabbed the syringe into her arm

“Sedative. You’re welcome” Alex told her, she’d feel bad about that breach of medical ethics later, after the witch was gone

“My team is currently tracking your attacker,” Astra explained “we’ll keep you informed”

“I told you I’m not staying here”

“ _Madam Senator,_ ” Astra began firmly “as long it’s out there, you’re in here,” she said simply “enjoy your stay at the DEO” she added as an agent led the Senator away

******

“I should’ve let it eat her” Kara snarled as the three of them followed Susan into the hologram room

“It would’ve,” Susan explained grimily “it still might”

“You ready to tell us what happened?” Alex asked, Susan sighed

“We’re looking for a White Martian” she answered grimly

“Oh, god” Astra groaned, looking ill

“Wait,” Alex said, looking between Astra and Susan “that _thing_ is like you?”

“It’s _nothing_ like me!” Susan snarled “that creature and its kind _slaughtered_ the Green Martians!” she took a harsh breath as she slowly sat down on the pedestal, seeming to reign her anger “the White Martians came from beneath the sands like a plague,” she explained grimly “bringing fire from the planet’s guts. And they burned us all”

“J’onn, I’m sorry” Alex sighed

“Don’t,” Susan told her “knowing what we’re up against might just save lives,” she explained “this creature belongs to a race devoted to killing me and mine. Make no mistake, it’ll be back”

“Then why attack the Senator?” Astra wondered, Susan shrugged

“Diversion?” she wondered with a shrug “it doesn’t matter, what matters is that _I_ brought it here,” she sighed “as Martians, we not only share the ability to shapeshift, we also share a bond, a telepathic link," she explained "whenever I change into my true state, or phase, or reach out to it with my mind, it _knows_ ”

“It sensed you when you used your powers to investigate Maxwell Lord” Astra realized, Susan nodded

“It attacked the rally to draw me out” she explained

“Then I scared it off” Kara added, Susan nodded

“Thankfully,” she answered “because I couldn’t face it today, I couldn’t even move”

“You will next time” Kara assured her

“You’re not alone in this, J’onn,” Astra reminded her “you have us” Susan nodded

“Thank you” she said gratefully

“In the meantime, we’ll keep the Senator here,” Alex explained “it’s the safest place around”

“Agreed” Astra added as they turned to march out of the room

“Kara,” Susan called out “I have to ask something of you,” she began “I should be the one to face this thing,” she explained “but if I do, it’ll mean the end of my life as Susan Vasquez, and if Susan goes then Astra goes, and if she goes then General Lane gets the DEO, and you know what’ll happen then” Kara nodded

“You all had my back a million times,” she said simply “I’ll bring it in” she vowed, nodding Susan followed her and the others out of the room, the group stopping at the sight of Lucy standing in front of them

“So,” she began “somebody want to fill me in?”


	54. Bloodstains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The White Martian reveals itself, J'onn reveals more about his past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, here's the next update in Strange Visitor, by the way, just saw the new episode and, spoiler alert, Vasquez is back! Yay! So it's kind of ironic that I'm updating the chapter about a version of her

******

“Any word on the monster?” Senator Crane inquired as she followed Astra into the observation booth overlooking Command

“I thought you’d like to know that Supergirl has graciously offered to bring in your attacker personally,” Astra explained “at great risk to herself, I might add. Once it’s been captured you’ll be free to go”

“And what makes you think I’ll be safe in here?” Crane wondered, Astra frowned

“What are you getting at, Senator?” she finally asked

“Nothing,” Crane shrugged “just rumors and whispers in Washington that say you need to clean house” she explained

“Meaning?” Astra wondered

“They say that Supergirl isn’t the only alien inside the DEO,” Crane explained “you’ve got a mole, Inzeli” Astra frowned

“Madam,” she began carefully “I trust you won’t be insulted if I called you ‘paranoid’. God knows I wouldn’t be the first, and I daresay I won’t be the last”

“Some aliens can look like anyone,” Crane reminded her, she shrugged “well, we may not agree on everything or have much in common, but I think it’s safe to say that neither of us like the idea of an alien spy within your walls. And if became public…well, that would certainly be very embarrassing for you”

“Why do I sense you have a proposal?” Astra wondered, Crane smiled

“Conduct a very quiet internal investigation, I’m sure finding an alien is…within your abilities”

“Madam, trust me,” Astra began “your time would better spent focusing on the American people, rather than on these…McCarthyism delusions”

“Fine. Play dumb. Let a mole run wild in here, just like you let a White Martian run wild on the street,” Crane dismissed “but when you’re brought down from the inside, you remember this: you were warned,” Astra frowned, glancing past the Senator’s shoulder to see Alex and Lucy on the catwalk, both with their guns drawn “it’s in your best interests to find this alien interloper quickly,” Crane said, bringing Astra back into focus “your entire operation may have been compromised”

“There are…no hidden aliens here” Astra said slowly as she gently rested a hand on her sidearm

“Are you _absolutely sure_ of that, Director Inzeli?” Crane wondered

“I wish I could say yes,” Astra groaned, Carne smirked at her, Astra smirked back in response “I never said that you were attacked by a White Martian” Crane’s smirk widened

“Well,” she began “I guess you’re smarter than I thought, Kryptonian” with a growl she threw out a hand, backhanding Astra through the glass and onto the floor, jumping out after her, but instead of attacking Astra, the White Martian turned, throwing aside agents like nothing as alarms began to scream. Up on the catwalk, Alex and Lucy opened fire, but the White Martian simply shrugged off the bullets as it barreled its way down the corridor, seeking escape, leaping and crawling along the walls like some kind of insect, throwing aside some agents and attack others with the same kind of breath attack it has used on the real Senator Crane’s bodyguards

“Spread out!!!” Alex bellowed as she and Lucy dropped down to the ground

“This is crazy!” Lucy panted out as she and Alex sprinted down the corridor, agents in full tactic gear behind them. By this point the White Martian had been forced back into Command, as agents charged after it, firing as it sailed around the room like a kite, sending up a shower of sparks from the lights as it tore at them, above the din Alex could distinctly hear Astra angrily bellowing out

“ **WOULD SOMEONE _KILL_ THIS THING?!!?!** ”

With a growl the White Martian landed onto of the operations table, crouching there like some kind of wild animal, ready to pounce. Someone, maybe Alex, maybe Lucy, maybe Astra, suddenly fired, the bullet severing one of the White Martian’s fingers, the severed appendage fell to the ground, transforming back into its natural state. The White Martian grinned as it stood up, smirking as Susan rushed into the room, freezing at the sight of alien, just like she had at the rally, no doubt overwhelmed by memories she’d rather keep buried

Alex leapt in front of Susan, gun drawn, ready to defend her friend. There was a sudden blast of heat vision, which forced the White Martian across the room to land in a sprawl amongst a stack of supply crates. Kara sailed down from the catwalk, delivering a hard punch across the alien’s jaw before it had even fully gotten to it’s feet, the White Martian retaliated, grabbing Kara by the shoulders and throwing her into the air, she quickly twisted around in midair and righted herself, clearly Astra and J’onn’s lessons on ‘proper flight technique’ were paying off.

With a roar, the White Martian simply jumped straight up, crashing through the ceiling in a shower of dust and rocks

“Kara!” Alex rushed to her as Kara softly landed

“I’ll go after it!” Kara said “you guys stay here,” she ordered “J’onn needs you” as she took off, Alex turned, her stomach twisting at the sight of Susan on her hands and knees, breathing shakily as Astra and Lucy crouched next to her protectively

“ _Alex,_ ” Kara called out over the comm. “ _it’s fled. Again!_ ” she announced

“I’ll work on a plan with Astra and Susan” Alex replied

******

Only about fifteen minutes had passed since the White Martian’s rampage, but felt like an hour, Alex felt drained as she watched a seemingly endless line of gurneys being wheeled into the infirmary

“How many did we lose?” she asked as she felt Astra come up behind her

“Too many” Astra answered, she sounded just as drained as Alex felt as she looked around, spotting Susan trudging down a corridor

“Susan,” she and Astra hurried up to the Martian “J’onn…” she tried

“I should’ve known” Susan sighed

“It’s not your fault,” Astra reminded her

“If anyone is at fault, its me,” Alex said “if I hadn’t forced you to use your powers, none of this would’ve have happened”

“But it did,” Susan answered as she leaned against a wall “and now people are dead because of me,” she let out a tired groan “this is _my_ war, not Earth’s”

“Not anymore,” Alex reminded her “you’re not alone in this,” she sighed “I’m so sorry for what happened to your planet, I can’t imagine what that feels like, but together, we’re going to protect this one”

“It wasn’t just my planet…,” Susan sighed, that familiar darkness clouding her features “we fought back, we’d known war before,” she began “maybe not as bad as Krypton or Earth, but we weren’t strangers to it. But not like this. White Martians had been toiling underground for years, decades even, building weapons of death. Fire traps. Their technology and numbers overwhelmed us, there was no honor in how they fought,” she took a shuddering breath “they, they herded us into camps. I _swore_ no matter that I would protect my family, no matter what, that we would survive. But, when…we got through the gates…they took the woman and children. The men were forced into labor. The others were sent to the, uh…the furnace. My wife and….daughters…burned,” she sagged against the wall “I escaped, I survived, to my great and everlasting shame,” she blinked away the tears running down her borrowed face “I will hear my family’s screams until the day I die”

“Look at me,” Astra implored softly as she approached the Martian “J’onn look at me,” slowly Susan looked up “there is _no shame_ in surviving,” she whispered “if your family,” she swallowed “if our families had lived, they would tell you, tell me, the same”

“But they didn’t,” Susan whispered “and now I’ve let another one of those butchers kill again,” she hissed “I have to stop it” she vowed

******

An hour later, Astra and Alex marched into one of the labs where Susan was examining the severed finger

“Can you track it using its tissue?” Alex wondered

“It it’s in its own skin, yes” Susan answered

“OK, so what do we do?” Astra wondered

“ _We_ don’t do anything” Susan answered grimly

“No,” Alex shook her head “no, no way, that is not happening, we are going to bring this in together

“We’re not bringing it in”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked, honestly afraid of the answer

“You know exactly what I mean,” was the growled out response “I'm going to find its lair, and when I do I will drop this human coat I wear. I won’t freeze. I will break its body in half and I will _bury_ it in the dry sand!”

“You’re not a murder” Alex said as she and Astra followed the Martian out of the room

“You don’t know me,” Susan hissed “I’m over three hundred and seventeen years old, I can wear any face I chose, I speak languages your mouths can’t even _form_. You know _nothing_ about me”

“What about the real Senator Crane?” Alex wondered

“She’s dead”

“You don’t know that,” Astra pointed out “you told me once that we don’t get to chose who we protect, if there is even a chance, no matter how small, we have to find her”

“I know you believe in honor,” Alex began “there is no honor in what you’re about to do”

“It no longer matters” Susan growled

******

A few minutes later, standing on a rooftop in the heart of the cit, J’onn held up the severed claw, scowling he reached out with his mind, focusing, not at all surprised when the White Martian’s mental signature lead down, beneath the city into the sewers

 _’Got you’_ he thought as he ended the probe before it could find him

******

“Floors one through six clear” Alex nodded

“We’ve cleared floors one through seven,” she reported “Astra, how’re things on your end?”

“I’m in a sewer, Danvers,” Astra grumbled as she dropped down of the ladder onto a walkway “I’m just super”

“ _Let us know if you find anything_ ”

“Oh,” Astra laughed “no ‘ifs’, Alex”

******

Meanwhile up top, Alex’s team froze

“ _Help me_ ” a voice called out in the distance

“Go” Alex ordered as the team followed the sound, breaking into a cordoned off area to find a weak-looking, but alive Senator Miranda Crane “Astra, we found the Senator, she’s alive” Alex announced

“That’s impossible,” Astra whispered as she came to a stop, finding a weak Miranda Crane wrapped in some kind of webbing “she’s here,” she felt a spike of genuine terror shoot through her “Alex…” there was a burst of gunfire over the comm. a growl, and then static…


	55. Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vengeance is like a cancer, it does no good, only harm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's an update to Strange Visitor, I hope everyone enjoyed the last one and that they enjoy this one

******

Alex jerked awake, wincing at the sudden pain in her shoulder. Looking around she saw that she was probably still underground, although where she couldn’t say

“Would you like to know why I haven’t killed you yet?” the White Martian—still in the form of Senator Crane—called out as it approached

“I’m bait” Alex spat out as she struggled to sit up

“You could save yourself pain by telling me which one of your coworkers is the Martian” the alien offered

“Go to hell,” Alex spat out as she finally got upright and shuffled over to the wall “I’m not talking”

“That _thing_ you and the Kryptonians are protecting,” the White Martian sneered “it’s the last remnant of an infestation my people eradicated, it’s an insect. But you? You’re not even an insect. You’re what worms eat, and half of you will do just as well as bait”

 ** _It’s me you want, not her_** the White Martian spun around, eyes glowing **_you may not have a soul, but we share a telepathic bond_** J’onn J’onnz continued across the bond **_though I’ve been loath to use it, but you’ve left me no choice_**

“You want your human pet back?” the White Martian taunted

“I want this to _end,_ ” J’onn hissed as he stood inside the hologram room at the DEO, a nervous Kara and Astra standing nearby “prove me that she’s alive and I’ll come” he offered. The White Martian turned back to Alex

“Your friend wants to know if you’re still breathing,” it stated “beg him to save you” Alex weakly shook her head, exhausted after just sitting up

“J’onn…don’t” she pleaded

“Is she all right?” Kara asked, J’onn nodded

“I can hear her, she’s alive,” he confirmed “this ends tonight”

 ** _The desert,_** the White Martian called across the bond **_it reminds me of home. Come now, so that I can water the ground with your blood, J’onn J’onzz. Or you could let another child die_**

“She’s in the desert,” Susan announced as she severed the link “you two get Alex and get out”

“What about you?” Kara asked

“I’m done”

“Done? What do you mean ‘done’?” Kara demanded “it has Alex!”

“We’re not leaving you alone with that creature” Astra hissed as she and Kara cornered Susan at the door

“This started because of me, my race gone, I’m all that’s left, if it wants me, let it have me”

“No!” Kara jumped in front of her, blocking her path

“I’m tired of being of the last,” she sighed “I’m tired of having lived, you both know how heavy that is”

“We do,” Kara confirmed “I ask myself everyday why my mother didn’t climb into that pod with me. Now I know that she felt guilty, guilty at having failed to save Krypton, guilty for what she did to Astra. To her, dying must’ve seemed…noble, honorable”

“You lived for a reason,” Astra explained “do you think I don’t ask myself why Jeremiah Danvers, why a good man, had to die for me? I do, and I have to believe that his sacrifice must have had a purpose, not just random chance, but that I was spared Henshaw’s butchery for a reason” Susan shook her head

“My road is done,” she proclaimed “I’ll help Alex, and then I’ll join my people…wherever they are”

******

A few minutes later, J’onn found himself standing in the desert hill outside the city, still comfortably clad in the form of Susan Vasquez. He liked being Susan, she was a fresh start, a completely original form and identity that had no ties or links to anyone. A blank slate. It was too bad he couldn’t keep this newfound life

A wooshing sound caught his attention, turning he found the White Martian—still clad in Senator Crane’s form—standing behind him, Alex laying at its feet

“Is this what you wanted?” it taunted, as Alex propped herself up on her elbows

“Run” she hissed. For a moment J’onn paused, how many time had he seen similar sights on Mars? The Whites taunting their victims, forcing his people to watch as they brutally executed whole families one by one, unleashing a kind of brutality that Earth had only just barely glimpsed at places like Dachau, Buchenwald, and Auschwitz

Forcing himself out of his memories, he slowly looked up at the butcher before him

[This is between you and me] he said in his own tongue, a language he hadn’t spoken in over three hundred years

[I see into your mind,] the White Martian hissed [everything, I see your family, your children…burning!] J’onn slowly shook his head

[You and your evil kind will not rest until I’m dead] the White raised an eyebrow

[You surrender?] it asked, in answer J’onn sank to one knee, turning his head and barring his throat, even as the White slowly shifted into its true form

[Send me to my family] he pleaded, blocking out the growing feeling of horror and rage pouring off Alex in waves, he wished Astra and Kara would hurry up, would get her out of here so she wouldn’t have to see his death

[Finally,] the White crowed triumphantly as it loomed over him in its nightmare-inducing true form [the last Green Martian _dies!_ ]

There was a woosh and two fast moving blurs suddenly slammed into the White, sending all three into a tumbling somersault. J’onn leapt to his feet, changing into his own true form as he did, watching as Kara and Astra got to their feet

“Stay with your sister!” Astra ordered as the White took flight, she and J’onn giving chase, both colliding with the White as it violently pummeled them both, at one point actually grabbing J’onn and hurling him at Astra like a ball, sending her crashing back to earth, but, true to her rank, she simply got back to her feet and took off again, the two of them slamming into the White Martian sending it crashing into a scrub brush, igniting it, before it came to a stop only a couple of feet from where Alex and Kara were huddled

Panting with exertion, J’onn landed, watching as the White shifted back into Senator Crane’s form, seeking some kind of protection from the flames

“It’s over, J’onn” Astra called out as she landed behind him

“You won,” Kara added as she joined Astra. Grunting, J’onn gripped both of their wrists, spinning around and quickly locking a pair of kryptonite cuffs onto each of them, cuffing them together “what are you doing?” Kara demanded

“I’m sorry,” J’onn apologized as he shifted back into Susan Vasquez’s form “but I can’t let either of you stop me”

“J’onn,” Astra panted out as she and Kara sank to their knees, weakened by the kryptonite “listen to me,” she pleaded as J’onn crouched next to the unconscious White, placing a knife to its throat “listen to me! I lost everything, my world, my sister; I know what that feels like. It carves out your heart and sits in your soul, it festers inside you until all that’s left is hate and rage, until you’re staring into an abyss. But you can’t keep staring into that darkness, you have to blink, you have to look away, you have to find something worth fighting for. J’onn, please!” she begged, as J’onn stopped, listening “Jeremiah Danvers _died_ for me,” Astra said tearfully “a good man died for me, someone he didn’t even know, and _every time_ I close my eyes I can still see him, lying there on that forest floor in a pool of blood…,” she shook her head “I can’t bring him back, no matter how much I want to, all I can do is fight in his name, all I can do is honor his sacrifice and hope and pray that he didn’t die in vain, that I was spared for a reason," she took a breath "if you do this," she began "then that _thing_ **wins**. The Last Son of Mars will die with the rest of his people. Even if you’re still standing”

J’onn slowly looked up at her and made his choice…

******

“You think this cell can hold me, Kryptonian?!” the White Martian raged as it paced its new accommodations, still in the form of Senator Crane, Astra smirked as she pointed up to the lights, gleaming a brilliant purple

“See the lights? We’re generating a stasis field,” she explained “so, I hope you enjoyed being human, because you’ll be staying in that form for quite a while” the White Martian growled as it slammed itself against the transparency

“My kind will come for me and you will _die_!” it proclaimed “they will come! And you will _know_ destruction!” 

“There are more of you?” Astra asked

“Thousands!” the White Martian spat out as it slammed its hands onto the cell, its borrowed face twisted into a triumphant sneer “ _millions_ ” it hissed, Astra smirked

“Then let them come,” she proclaimed “we’ll be waiting,” with that she turned on her heel and walked out, leaving the White Martian to its rage. Outside the cell, she found Alex, Kara, and Susan huddled together by the wall “you did the right thing” she reminded Susan

“I’m just sorry you had to” Alex added as Susan nodded, staring at each of them for a moment

“My daughters were named…K’hym and…T’ana,” she began “and my wife was…M’yri’ah,” she shrugged “it’s not the same, but…anyone would be proud to call you all family” Kara rushed forward, pulling the Martian into a hug

“All right,” Astra gently pried them apart, smiling as she did so “enough of that” Kara cleared her throat, blushing

“Right, sorry. Boss” she gave Astra a mock salute, smiling as Susan smirked and walked away

“So,” the three women turned to find Lucy walking up to them “sounds like I missed all the fun”

******

Hours later, after the paperwork had been filled out and signed, and Senator Crane had given a surprising speech thanking Supergirl for rescuing her and publicly pulled her support from the anti-alien initiative, publicly reminding the American people that not all aliens were the enemy and that they could not let fear dictate their actions, and Alex found herself munching ice cream on Kara’s couch

“OK, what’s up?” Alex asked as she dug into her tub of ice cream “did something happen with Winn?”

“What? No,” Kara shook her head, snuggling deeper under the throw “I, uh,” she huffed out a breath “I kissed James today”

Alex choked

“What?!” she finally wheezed out after she’d stopped trying to hack up a lung, Kara nodded “how? When?” Alex demanded

“It was just before I found out that the White Martian shapeshifted into Senator Crane,” Kara explained hurriedly “I asked if Lucy was OK with him working so late, he said that they broke up, and I….” she trailed off

“So, wait, you just…planted one on him?” Alex frowned, Kara shook her head

“No, I just kinda…leaned in” she mumbled, Alex’s frown deepened

“Who leaned in first?” she finally asked

“I don’t remember” Alex slowly nodded

“So, he might’ve leaned in first?” she suggested

“I don’t know! Maybe!” Kara waved her spoon emphatically

“Did he ask you out?”

“Kinda?”

“Define ‘kinda’?”

“He…said that maybe we should talk about it…over dinner….tomorrow night”

“Hey, Kara, that’s great!” Alex cheered “that means it’s a date” Kara pouted

“But, what if it goes wrong?” she wondered “what then? I mean what happens at the office?”

“Kara,” Alex sighed “just go on the date first and have fun _before_ you start worrying about things going wrong” for a moment both girls lapsed into silence

“Hey, speaking of dating,” Kara began “why aren’t you with Astra?”

“More paperwork,” Alex explained “last I saw her she was on the phone being yelled by…I think it was the Secretary of Defense about how she ‘allowed’ an ‘alien hostile’ to ‘successfully infiltrate’ the DEO”

“Is she going to be OK?” Kara wondered

“Oh, yeah, she’ll be fine,” Alex dismissed “I once saw her get yelled at by the VP, she’ll be fine” she turned back to the TV, noticing a news bulletin

“ _We’re here live at the scene of a major traffic accident on Route One,_ ” the newscaster began “ _where Supergirl just arrived moments ago_ ” Alex sat up

“How…are you there?” she asked

“I’m not,” Kara answered as they both stood up and stared at the screen, watching as the other Supergirl easily lifted an overturned car and casually threw it away like a toy “yeah, that is definitely not me” Kara muttered...


	56. Bizzaro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A broken mirror still shows a reflection, no matter how twisted. AU of "Bizzaro"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned! Sort of. This is only the first chapter in Strange Visitor's AU of "Bizzaro", but I thought I'd post what I had so far anyway, it's short, but its here, so on we go

******

“Not exactly one for you ‘best of…’ album” Astra commented the next day as she, Alex, Kara, and Lucy and Susan went back over the footage of the other Supergirl

“We scanned the entire highway,” Alex picked up “no signs of alien DNA or other biological traces, so we can probably rule out an alien shapeshifter”

“Unless there’s something that Vasquez here isn’t telling us” Lucy commented, Susan smirked

“While the skirt was surprisingly comfortable, no, it wasn’t me” 

“So who is she?” Kara wondered “a clone?” Alex shook her head

“I don’t think so,” she answered “even if someone had gotten a sample of your DNA when you came out as Supergirl the embryo would still be in gestation,” she frowned as she glanced between Susan and Astra “what about that woman Vasquez found in Maxwell Lord’s lab?” she wondered

“I doubt it,” Susan replied “her brain activity was minimal, higher brain functions virtually non-existent, bringing that girl back to even _partial_ consciousness would be like…raising the dead”

“Are you sure?” Kara wondered

“Maxwell Lord may have a god complex,” Astra began “but he’s not an _actual_ god, thankfully” she added

“Director Inzeli?” an agent called out, Astra sighed

“Duty calls” she muttered as she turned to leave, Alex glanced back at Kara, noticing that she had pulled out her cell phone and was texting

“What are you doing?” she wondered

“Texting James,” Kara answered “telling him that I can’t make it to dinner tonight” she explained

“No, no, no, no, you’re not” Lucy interrupted, snatching the phone from her

“You’re…OK with this?” Alex wondered

“It’s fine,” Lucy dismissed, waving her hand as she turned back to Kara “look,” she began “it’s not going to be easy, I know, in fact, it’ll _never_ be easy, but you’ve got a really good chance at something worthwhile here,” she encouraged “don’t let your fear get in the way, just go out to dinner tonight, have fun, and please, spare me the details” Kara sighed

“All right,” she sighed “all right, I’ll go,” she grumbled “can I have my phone back, please?” Lucy happily handed her the device, smirking as Kara stalked off

”Lucy…,” Alex began cautiously “what, uh, exactly happened between you and James?” Lucy sighed

“Well, put simply, we broke up because we both realized that we were trying to recapture something that was long dead,” she explained “we’d both become different people since we last saw each other”

“I’m sorry,” Alex apologized “not for her, but for you, I’m happy for her” Lucy gave her a smile

“Thanks, but, it’s fine, it was totally mutual,” she explained “and besides,” she added as she nodded towards Kara “I’ve seen how he looks at her” Alex had to smile at the approving look on Lucy’s face

“Yeah,” she finally said “it’s mutual too” Lucy chuckled as Alex quietly excused herself, hurrying over to Astra

“Astra” she called out, the other woman turned

“Yes?”

“Look, about last night, with the White Martian,” Alex began “you said…something, about my father” Astra nodded solemnly

“Your father didn’t see me as a threat, he didn’t even see me as an alien, to him I was just a person,” she shook her head “I never even got the chance to thank him for saving my life”

“I know,” Alex nodded tearfully “and as much as it hurts knowing what happened,” she began “I’m…glad that you’re here” Astra smiled softly at her

“I’m glad you’re here too, Alex” she said


	57. Cracked Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex fumes over Max, Astra is sneaky, and Kara complains about her lack of a love life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'RE BACK!!!! Yes this is indeed an update of "Strange Visitor", I'd to like thank--and applaud--Kimmieheir who managed to read all fifty-six chapters, and for encouraging me to start updating this fic again, thanks! And now, enjoy... :=)

******

The rest of the day passed without incident, Kara went back to work and Alex buried herself in her lab looking over more than a dozen ways how someone, anyone, could create a duplicate of Kara, and everything was quite boring, until that night, when Supergirl and her doppelganger faced off over the bay, with the lives of over a dozen passengers on the National Island Tramway quite literally hanging the balance.

“She’s as strong as me, she flies like me. Except to the fact that she talks like Cookie Monster, she is exactly like me” Kara sighed as she, Alex, and Astra walked into Command at the DEO after the rescue

“The Red Tornado was programmed to analyze and mimic your fighting style,” Astra pointed out “now; Dr. Marrow is dead, but…maybe the schematics for another android…” Kara shook her head

“No, that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” she sighed “she’s not an android. I looked into her eyes, and there is _someone_ looking back. She has a soul, and, somehow, it’s like mine. Alex, I know you said a clone was impossible, but, she does not just _look_ like me, she _is_ me…” she sighed

“The good thing is,” Alex began “if she is genetically identical to you, or even similar, then she should share the same weakness, we can use kryptonite” Kara frowned, looking doubtful

“We have to subdue her somehow,” Astra pointed out, she smiled at Kara “don’t worry, we won’t use enough to hurt her” she assured her

“Not seriously anyway,” Alex smirked

“I’ll look into it with Agent Lane,” Astra nodded as she turned to leave “in the meantime _please_ tell your sister about your date with Mr. Olsen, before she _combusts_ with anticipation” Kara turned to Alex, who shrugged

“Well…?” Alex prompted “come on, how was dinner?”

“We didn’t even make it past drinks” Kara sighed, Alex smiled and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze

“Don’t worry, he’ll understand,” she told her “why don’t you call him and get a rain check?” she suggested, Kara brightened just as her phone chirped “ah, there you go, he beat you to the punch” Alex grinned, but frowned as Kara’s face hardened

“No, it’s a text from Winn,” Kara answered “I asked him to look for any missing women matching my description, you know, my weight, my height, it looks like he found something”

“Really?” Alex asked as Kara nodded as she called Winn back and put it on speaker

“Winn?”

“ _Yeah, hey,_ ” Winn greeted “ _so, look—uh, am I on speaker? ‘Cause it sounds like I’m on speaker_ ”

“It’s only me, Winn,” Alex said “what have you got?”

“ _Yeah, OK, there was a Jane Doe matching her height, weight, and coloring. She was admitted to National City General two years after a car accident, she’s been in a coma ever since,_ ” he explained

“Where is she now?” Alex asked

“ _Good question,_ ” Winn chuckled “ _she was transferred to a private facility, a, uh, ‘Prometheus Genetics’, three guesses who owns it_ ”

“Max Lord” Kara snarled

“ _Bingo,_ ” you could hear Winn nod over the phone “ _but here’s something more that’s pretty upsetting. Over the past three months six more women matching the same description were transferred or admitted to Prometheus Genetics_ ” the sisters stared at each other

“Seven girls?” Kara asked, aghast

“ _Maybe it took him seven tries to create the perfect doppelganger_ ” Winn suggested uncomfortably

******

“He all but admitted it!” Alex snarled half a day later as she all but stormed into Command, fresh from her ‘talk’ with Maxwell Lord “he took those girls, all seven”

“And ‘good morning’ to you too, agent Danvers,” Astra commented “and to whom are you referring?”

“Maxwell Lord,” Alex snarled “he’s the one behind this, he made the Bizarro”

“Is _that_ what we’re calling it?” Lucy asked

“Another CatCo trademark” Kara dismissed

“Well, _whoever_ is behind it, we still need to stop this threat,” Astra pointed out, she glanced between Lucy and Alex “recommendations?”

“We arm our agents with kryptonite darts and we take down this Bizarro the next time she show’s her face” Alex snarled

“Yeah, but isn’t _she_ the victim here?” Lucy wondered “if the information that Winn provided is true then we should be going after Maxwell Lord not her”

“You’re acting like she’s a person and not some science experiment,” Alex sighed “that’s what she is, Lucy, one of Max’s… _deranged_ experiments”

"Then why don't we go after Maxwell Lord?" Kara asked

“Because, even is he is responsible, we’re the DEO, we don’t exist," Astra pointed out "and we certainly don’t have the authority to arrest private citizens. Especially not world-famous billionaires,” she added “briefing the strike team in ten” she nodded as she turned to leave

“Ugh,” Kara groaned “OK, I can’t do this,” she pulled out her phone “I’m going to text James and—Lucy!” she whined and made grabbing motions as Lucy held her cell phone away from her

“You _are_ going on this date, Kara,” she all but growled “and I don’t care if I have to tie you up and hand deliver you to him, but you’re going”

“Alex?” Kara whined

“Oh, no, I’m not arguing with her,” Alex held up her hands “besides I have my own dating problems to deal with,” she glanced back towards where Astra had walked away “speaking of which…” she left Kara and Lucy to their stand off and followed Astra

“I have a plan, Alex” Astra said without turning back to face her

“Oh, really?” Alex scoffed “does this plan involve actually _doing_ something?” she leaned in closer “you and I both know that Lord is behind this, we should be out there, doing something about it. What if he already knows about Kara?” she suggested “about the DEO? About _you?_ ”

“Right now I don’t care if he knows the nuclear launch codes and his finger is on the button,” Astra countered “we are not talking about some random, anonymous alien here, Alex, this is Maxwell Lord. Head of a multi- _billion_ dollar company, _Time_ Magazine’s reigning Person of the Yea—although I can’t, for the life of me, fathom why—the entire planet will be looking for him”

“They won’t find him” Alex swore, Astra sighed

“You’re coming dangerously close to compromising the security of this organization” she warned

“And he is compromising the security of my _family_ ,” Alex hissed “guess which one I care about more?” she sighed “we all do what we have to do to protect our secrets. I’d think that _you_ , of all people. would understand that”

“Do you trust me?” Astra asked

“What does that have to do—”

“ _Do you_ …trust me?” Astra repeated firmly

“Yes” Alex answered without hesitation

“Then trust that I have a plan already in motion,” Astra implored, she leaned in and lowered her voice “trust that I would never, _never_ allow you or Kara to come to harm” she whispered.

Slowly Alex nodded, giving in

“All right,” she finally allowed “I’ll go along with your plan. For now that is, the second I don’t like what I’m seeing---”

“Yes, yes,” Astra interrupted tiredly “you’ll go after him like the proverbial avenging angel, I’m well aware of your proclivity towards leaping without looking,” she made a shooing motion with her hand as she turned back to the dry-erase board she’d been studying “strike team briefing in five minutes, you’d better hurry,” as Alex hurried off, Astra turned towards Susan “are we all set?” she asked

“We are,” the Martian nodded “Max won’t know what hit him”

“Good”


	58. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara needs help getting ready for her date with James

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! A nice Karaoslen moment enjoy :=)

******

“I can’t do this!” Kara whiled

“Yes you can!” Alex insisted “now, just take a deep breath…good, all right, now…red or blue?”

“I don’t know!”

“Red or blue?” Alex asked again, keeping her voice calm and neutral

“Blue”

“OK, good, now you just need to find shoes that match”

Kara huffed out a breath and dove back into her clothing rack, searching for a pair of matching shoes

“Got ‘em!” she held up a pair of navy blue pumps “OK,” she took a steadying breath and then supersped into the dress “good?” she asked

“Yep” Alex nodded as she made her way into Kara’s kitchen to find something strong to drink

“Alex?” Kara suddenly whined. Sighing, Alex came back into the bedroom and laughed at the sight of Kara twisting around and around like a dog chasing its tail as she tried to reach the zipper on the back of the dress “it’s not funny!” she pouted, actually stomping her foot in frustration

“C’mere you dork,” Alex chuckled, she gently turned Kara around and zipped her up “there, now enjoy yourself,” she encouraged “we’ll handle your evil twin”

“OK,” Kara sighed, just as a knock came at the door, Kara jumped and tensed “that’s James!” she hissed, she looked at Alex pleadingly “you get it!”

“What? No! I’m doing that!”

“Al-ex! Please? Just, just tell him I’m not ready! Anything!”

“Nope, still not doing it”

“OH! I hate you!” Kara spat as she stalked to the door, took a breath, and then flung it open “hi!” she squeaked

“Hi,” James smiled, he looked her up and down “you look beautiful” he blurted out

“Really? Thanks!” Kara grinned “you, you look good too” she gestured to his simple, but nice, shirt, blazer, and slacks combo

“Thanks,” James smiled, he looked past Kara and nodded at Alex “hi, Alex”

“Hi, James, bye James,” she grabbed her bag and quickly moved past Kara towards the door “I’ll just leave you two to it. Bye”

“Bye” they both waved as she shut the door behind her. She leaned against it and took a breath

“Yes!” she punched the air

“Still here, Alex” Kara called out

“Sorry!”

******

A few minutes later, Kara found herself at a very nice, yet simple, outdoor café. Strings of fairy lights ran from a series of trellises to another, making a sort of glowing canopy, while hidden speakers buried somewhere in the trellises piped out soft violin music, creating a soft and intimate atmosphere. If Kara didn’t know any better, she could’ve sworn for a minute that she was in some café in Rome or somewhere in the Mediterranean (the fact that she herself actually _could_ just...zip off to Rome for a romantic first date and be back half an hour later didn’t even enter her mind as she and James were seated in a quiet corner)

“James this is great!” she exclaimed “how’d you find out about this place? I’ve never even heard it”

“Actually,” James began hesitantly “Lucy recommended it”

“Really?” Kara asked, surprised as she munched on a breadstick

“Yeah, apparently she’s an old friend of the owner or something, got them to get us a seat,” he nodded “is that OK?” he asked

“Yeah, sure,” Kara nodded “hell, she all but threatened me if I _didn’t_ go on this date,” she frowned “is this really a date?” she asked “I mean, because I know I just, sorta…ambushed you with that kiss”

“That kiss,” James began seriously “was one of the best I’ve ever had,” he admitted “it was a little surprising, yeah, but I’m glad one of us finally took the plunge”

“OK,” Kara breathed out a sigh of relief “that’s good, that’s good, ‘cause I didn’t want us to start… _something_ based on a,” she fluttered her hands wildly “on an…impulse”

“Kara,” James gently took her hands “it’s _fine_ , unexpected, yeah, but fine”

“So…we’re good?” she hesitantly asked

“We’re very good,” James nodded “so…,” he began, he chuckled “uh, I’m trying to think of good first date questions”

“Oh, I’ve got one,” Kara grinned “uh, favorite color?”

“Blue”

“Also blue,” she grinned “OK, uh, oh! Favorite meal?”

“Burgers”

“What kind?”

“Any kind, really,” he shrugged “OK, uh, oh, favorite vacation memory”

“Oh, ooh,” she cringed “uh, it’s not exactly, er…’normal’,” she warned “that OK?”

“That’s more than fine”

“OK, so, uh, when I was about, uh, six or so, my parents took me to a…’place’ called ‘On’va’tu’,” she paused, gauging his reaction, James nodded encouragingly “so, anyway, there are these, well, they’re kind of like coral reefs almost, except they’re made of crystal, and when the sunlight hits them they grow really, really fast. So, we’re all standing there, and the sun rises and as soon as the light hits these crystals they start growing into like this, this staircase, that spirals around this mountain, kind of like an escalator, so we all just kind of…’floated’ up to the top of this mountain, and from the top you could see this, like this…sea of crystals all growing and shimmering in the sunlight”

“Sounds cool”

“It was,” she nodded, she smiled, feeling light and easy “your turn”

“OK, uh, well, I was about…nine, I think and my dad took me fishing for the first time...” he began. There was a sudden whoosh, interrupting him. Other patrons started screaming as something suddenly barreled through the patio, colliding with Kara at breakneck speed, carrying her off as James screamed her name…


	59. Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang struggles to come up with a plan to defeat Bizarro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update!! :=)

******

Kara grunted as she hit the ground. Shakily climbing to her feet, she tensed as Bizarro stood in front of her, studying her

“Please,” Kara held out a hand “you’re making a mistake”

Bizarro tilted her head, before her eyes suddenly lit up with a pale blue light, twin beams of something _like_ heat vision shooting out. Kara fired off a blast of heat vision, gasping as an icy burn suddenly shot through her, it was like Bizarro’s ‘heat’ vision was more like ‘freeze’ vision. Gasping for breath, Kara staggered to one knee, it felt like the very heat was being sucked from her body, she could feel the icy blasts getting closer and closer, before Bizarro suddenly stopped, stalemate. Collapsing to the ground, Kara panted for breath as she staggered to her feet “please, please, you don’t want to do this” she pleaded.

Bizarre studied her before suddenly shooting forward at superspeed, delivering an uppercut that sent Kara somersaulting into the air. Spinning, Kara righted herself, floating there as Bizarro once again studied her, like she was trying to figure her out. Nodding to herself, Kara shot forward, knocking Bizarro into a spin as she passed. Now floating in the air herself, Bizarrro floated higher and then breathed out a blast of _fire_. Kara flopped back from the heat, hitting the ground and countering with a blast of freeze breath.

Giving on this tactic, Birzarro reared back as Kara jumped to her feet, slipping into a fighting stance as Bizarro lunged, fists outstretched, Kara threw out her arms, catching each of Bizarro’s fists in her own hands and struggling to hold her back as the sound of tires on gravel caught her attention. Turning, she saw two HUMVEEs pulled up, Alex, dressed in full tactical gear, hopping out of one. Turning back to Bizzaro, Kara worked one fist free and punched Bizzarro across the jaw, knocking her away

“Supergirl’s clear!” Alex hollered out to the agents with her “fire!” Kara jerked back as a series of bright green bolts of light wheezed past her, heading towards Bizarro “again!” Alex ordered, Kara jerked again as another series of bolts wheezed past, several striking Bizarro, knocking to her the ground

“Alex, no!”’

“She’s down!” Alex hurried over to Kara’s side “are you all right?!” she demanded

“Yeah,” Kara panted out, tensing as Bizarro slowly staggered into a sitting position “what, what’s happening to her?” she watched as Bizarro’s face, her whole body in fact, _changed_. Her skin began a frightening, chalky pale, while black, mold-like lesions spread out from the kryptonite wounds. Even her hair and costume seemed to darken, becoming duller

“It’s the kryptonite,” Alex shook her head “it’s…degrading her, corrupting her” she realized as Bizarro staggered to her feet with a growl which quickly built to an almost-primal roar of outrage

“ ** _HATE….YOU!!!_** ” with a whoosh she suddenly shot up into the sky. Kara moved to follow her, only stagger as a wave of dizziness overcame her

“It’s the kryptonite artillery,” Alex steadied her “you can’t go after her, not now…”

******

“Kara, I was just trying to protect you!” Alex sighed as they marched into the DEO

“Alex, you were right” Kara sighed

“About what?” Alex asked

“About Maxwell Lord, Bizarro didn’t come after me as Supergirl, she came after me as Kara Danvers,” she gestured to her dress, now wrinkled and smudged with dirt and torn “which means that he knows who I am, where I work,” her eyes widened “oh my god, James”

“He’s fine,” Alex assured her, she gestured towards Command where James stood with Lucy “how do you think we got there so fast?”

“He called you?” Kara asked

“Well, actually, he called Lucy, who told Astra, who told me,” she gave Kara a smile and a gentle nudge “go on,” she encouraged “talk to him” with a sigh, Kara hurried over to James and quickly hugged him, a hug which he eagerly returned. Sighing, Alex turned and marched into a side lab, where Astra and Susan were waiting

“Where’s Bizarro?” Astra wondered

“Things didn’t go…quite according to plan” Alex sighed

“Meaning?” Susan asked

“Bizarro is equal in strength and speed to Kara, but the rest of her powers are diametrically oppositional to hers,” she explained “we hit her with the kryptonite darts, and instead of weakening her…”

“It made her stronger,” Astra sighed “great. So, once again, a superpowered menace is let lose on National City”

“And this one’s controlled by Maxwell Lord” Alex grumbled

“Regardless, we still need to stop this threat,” Susan pointed out “you said that her powers are diametrically opposed to Kara’s?” at Alex’s nod, she frowned “I’ll work with the lab to see if we can reformulate our synthetic kryptonite. If its atomic structure makes Bizarro stronger, then reversing its ionic charge might be able to take her out”

“Get started,” Astra nodded, as Susan quietly slipped out, Astra frowned at Alex “something you want to add?” she asked

“Any plan won’t work as long as Maxwell Lord is still out there” Alex sighed

“And what do you suggest we do?” Astra wondered “maybe a sniper on the roof of a building across the street from his office?” she suggested “after all, murder is a very quick and simple way of solving a problem” she added, Alex sighed

“All I know, is that there are so many threats out there, Bizarro, Non and the rest of Fort Rozz, and those are just the ones that we know about,” she raked a hand through her hair “I just..”

“I know,” Astra nodded, she reached out and gently took Alex’s arm, mindful of glass walls and ever-watchful agents “but, you can’t just…punch your problems away, as tempting as it is. In order to defeat someone like Maxwell Lord requires subtly and anticipating everything he’ll throw at you” she explained, Alex sighed

“I hope you know what you’re doing” she muttered as she turned to leave

“So do I” Astra muttered to the empty room…


	60. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex gives Kara some dating advice, then figures out how to stop Bizarro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SIXTY!!!! WHOO! :=)

******

Alex rounded the corner to see Kara and James quietly talking. Pausing in the hall, she flattened herself against the wall and listened

“I just feel like this is the universe’s way of telling us something,” Kara insisted “our first date never even happened, this time I got kidnapped”

“Kara, it’s never going to be easy,” James pointed “but we can’t just throw our hands up and say ‘oh well, we tried’.”

“He’s right,” Alex spoke up as she came out of her hiding place, startling them “Kara, it’s never going to be good timing,” she insisted “you can’t just…wait around until it’s a ‘good time’. You may be Supergirl, but you’re ‘Kara Danvers’ too, and she deserves a life. _And,_ ” she pointed at James “with him you won’t have to worry about hiding who you really are”

“Alex,” James began “did anyone ever tell that you’re a very wise woman?”

“Hmm, once or twice,” she grinned “but, actually I came here with a message from Astra” she admitted

“Oh?” he asked

“Yeah, she wants me to tell you that, uh…’unless you want to join up to get out’. Her words, not mine”

“That’s mean” Kara pouted

“No, that’s security,” Alex insisted, she smiled at the pair “but, I want your assurances that you will try for a date again, once this is all over”

“We’ll try” James nodded, he glanced at Kara questioningly. She bit her lip, looking doubtful

“Yeah,” she finally nodded “we’ll try again,” she grinned “what’s that old saying? ‘Third time’s the charm’?”

“Yeah” Alex grinned

******

Alex groaned and rubbed at her eyes. She’d been staring at a diagram of kryptonite’s molecular structure for the better part of an hour and so far all she was getting was double vision. She groaned and stared as a steaming mug was held in front of her

“Warm tea” Astra explained as she sat down next to her

“Thanks,” Alex took the cup and took a sip, sighing as the warm liquid slid down her throat oh so pleasantly “oh that’s nice” she sighed

“Glad you like it,” Astra chuckled; she nodded to the screen “any luck?”

“So far, none. Susan’s busy yelling at the lab techs, uh, Kara and Lucy are sparing, James left about an hour ago. And I’ve been staring at this screen for so long that I think I’m going blind”

“Charming” Astra drawled as the door slid open and a rather harried-looking Susan marched in followed by Lucy and Kara

“OK, the lab techs finally stopped playing _Dungeons & Dragons_ and finally came up with something which they _think_ will work” Susan explained as she handed Alex a piece of paper. Alex sat up, scanning the formula as Susan set a box marked with a radiation symbol down on the lab bench with a heavy thud

“What’s in the box?” Astra wondered

“Standard kryptonite rounds,” Susan explained, she glanced at Alex “think it’ll work?”

“Worth a shot,” Alex muttered as she opened the box, six kryptonite-tipped armor-piercing rounds resting neatly inside, glowing a soft green as Astra and Kara quickly moved across the room while Alex grabbed a pipette and some of the chemicals listed on the paper “here goes nothing” she muttered as she mixed the chemicals and began to gently apply it to the kryptonite one-by-one, watching as each round lightened in color, turning a paler green

“So far so good” Lucy muttered as the kryptonite lightened even further into a sickly yellow. Alex stopped as both Kara and Astra suddenly gasped

“It's James,” Kara exclaimed “Birzzaro has him!”

“I heard” Astra nodded

“I think I got it,” Alex nodded to the rounds, which had changed to a pale, ghostly blue “the exact molecular opposite of kryptonite,” she picked up the rounds “now don’t touch this,” she warned “I don’t know what it’ll do to a Kryptonian, it might give you a rash, or it might turn you inside out”

“Charming prospect” Astra drawled

“Will it work on Bizarro?” Kara asked

“We’ll find out,” Alex nodded “you move her into position and I’ll take the shot”

“Get going,” Astra nodded “and be careful”

“Always am” Alex grinned…

******

Bizarro was holding James in an old, abandoned Lord Technologies warehouse, if that wasn’t proof that he was behind her creation, Alex had less faith in the judicial system then she thought. She took a breath as Kara set her down and then swooped in, landing in front of Bizarro with a bang

“ _I…kill…Supegirl!_ ” Bizarro snarled even as Kara exhaled a blast of freeze breath, which Bizarro countered with a blast of fire breath, the two of them temporarily canceling each other out. Loading her P-90, Alex glanced over to where James was still duct tapped to a forklift, smirking as Lucy came up behind him and swiftly freed him, silently ushering him into a safe corner.

Turning back to the fight, Alex cringed as Bizarro grabbed Kara and lifted her up; ready to body slam her into the floor. With a whoosh, Kara shot out of Bizarro’s grip, floating above her. With an angry roar, Bizarro lunged, but Kara feinted to the side and sent Bizarro crashing through a window.

For a moment no one moved, all of them—Alex, Lucy, James, and Kara waited. There was a whoosh as Bizarro suddenly came crashing back through the broken window, slamming into Kara. Kara floated up, but Bizarro followed, wrapping her hands around Kara’s throat, trying to strangle her. Alex readied the gun, taking aim, mentally cursing as Kara and Birarro both turned in a tight circle

“I can’t get a clear shot” Alex spat out

“ _Just take the shot!_ ” Kara choked out over the comm.

“Kara, I don’t know what this will do to you if I hit you” Alex warned

“ _Just…do…it!_ ” Kara choked out. Alex took a breath, glancing over as Lucy and James hunkered down next to her. She locked eyes with James

“Do it” he nodded.

Alex pulled the trigger.

She watched as a blue pulse of light enveloped Bizarro, her grip on Kara went slack and she slowly slumped to the floor

“ _You did it_ ” Kara panted out

“I did” Alex whispered, relieved beyond belief…


	61. Strong Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bizarro sleeps, Alex and Astra play avenging angels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!

******

Alex sighed as she led Kara into the isolation lab at the DEO. Bizarro quietly rested on a gurney

“She’s been asking for you” Astra said softly as they entered, Bizarro weakly reached out towards them

“Super…girl,” she moved as if to sit up, but then fell back with a tired groan

“Hey,” Kara hurried over to the gurney “hi, I’m here, hi” she whispered, Birzarro weakly shook her head

“I…sorry” she tried

“I know, I’m sorry too” Kara nodded

“We’re going to put her under,” Astra explained quietly “the way she was when we first saw her”

“She won’t feel any pain will she?” Kara asked worriedly

“She won’t feel anything,” Astra shook her head “she’ll just sleep”

“We have to try to help her” Kara urged

“We will” Astra nodded, as Kara turned back to Bizarro, gently taking her hand

“I’m going to hold your hand until you fall asleep, OK?” she whispered, as Bizarro tensed

“Afraid” she whispered

“I know,” Astra said, taking her other hand and gently squeezing “think of something nice” she encouraged as she gently turned on the IV, Bizarro frowned

“Bunny” she said suddenly, Astra smiled sadly

“Do you like bunnies?” she asked, Bizarro nodded, smiling weakly

“Fluffy,” she mumbled sleepily, she turned to Kara “thank…you,” she panted out “…Kara” with that her eyes closed and her breathing evened out.

For a moment no one spoke

“She didn’t deserve what happened to her” Kara sniffed, wiping at her eyes

“No,” Astra growled “no, she did not”

"Max was trying to make her to be like me," Kara nodded tearfully "and he did"

Alex watched as Astra swiftly turned and marched out of the room, pausing as she passed Alex

“Let’s do it” Alex nodded…


	62. Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maxwell Lord finally gets what's coming to him. End of AU of "Bizarro"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update!

******

Marching to Maxwell Lord’s office, Alex wasn’t sure what Astra had in mind, she could only hope and trust that it would deal with the problem as she and Astra stormed into Lord's office, Susan quietly trailing behind

“Agent Danvers,” Lord nodded from behind his desk, not bothering to look up from his computer “or whatever you’re calling yourself today,” he finally deigned to look up at them “you know, I’m getting really tired of these unexpected visits”

“Well, in that case, you’re in luck, Max,” Astra commented “because this will be the last”

“Really?” Max asked “I certainly hope so,” he gestured behind them as two large men entered the room “these gentlemen will show you out” he leaned back in his chair, smug

“Come on” one goon grunted out, he gripped Astra’s arm, only to gasp in pain as she rested her hand on his and lightly _squeezed_

“I’m sorry, your name is?” she asked the other goon “I’m only asking because I figure you could write it on your friend’s cast when you visit him in traction”

She released Goon Number One, watching disinterestedly as he sank to his knees, clutching his arm and gasping in pain

“Now, then,” she began, as the two security goons quickly shuffled out of the room “I think we were discoing something Max?”

“We were?” Max asked as he got up and came around the desk “oh yes, we were, because I’ve got something to tell you. Put simply, either of you try to do anything to me, and I’ll tell the whole world that Alex’s sister, sweet, unassuming Kara Danvers, is Supergirl”

Alex felt her anger spike, but held herself back when Astra lightly touched her arm

“I see,” Astra nodded “and just _how_ do you propose to do that? I suppose this is the part where you boast about your nigh unlimited resources and how you’re richer than many small nations?” she smirked, slow, lazy, and deadly “oh, I’m so sorry, I meant to say that you _were_ richer than many small nations”

“What?” Alex asked

“Oh, you mean that you weren’t aware that Mr. Lord has donated almost all of his fortune to various charities over the past several weeks?” Astra calmly held up the tablet PC she had tucked under her arm as she turned back to Lord “so, you mean that this wasn’t you today?” she asked as she held it out

“ _Earlier today, billionaire Maxwell Lord, CEO and founder of Lord Technologies, donated close to one hundred thousand dollars to the National City Shelter for Battered Women,_ ” the newscaster was saying, while an image of a smiling Lord standing outside the shelter, shaking hands with people was splashed across the small screen “ _this is the first public display of what has been revealed to be an unprecedented spree of donations and sales of Lord Tech patents going back several months. In fact, we’ve just received word that just last week, Mr. Lord sold almost every patient he’s had in the last ten years to both Wayne Enterprises and S.T.A.R. Labs, as well as donating vast sums of money to various environmental and ecological funds. However, economists warn that Mr. Lord’s vast donation spree may cost him, as he may inadvertently drain his entire fortune in the course of his philanthropic endeavors_ ” 

“This is a trick” Max stammered out as Astra turned off the tablet

“Well, check your bank if you don’t believe it,” Astra shrugged as Max pulled out his cell phone, only to stop and stare at it “that is, of course, if they haven’t cut off your cell phone for delinquent payment,” she added “in fact, according to my own accountants,” she reached into her pocket “your entire net worth is now…” she held up a coin

“Twenty-five cents?” Max stared at the quarter Astra now held between thumb and forefinger

“Oh, you’re right, my mistake,” she put the quarter back and then tossed him something “sorry, I meant _one cent,_ ” she explained as the penny rolled along the floor to stop at Max’s shoe “of course, in order to spend all that money you did have to make some sacrifices,” she added “namely firing virtually every employee you’ve ever hired. Unlawfully I might add. And whom I'm told are now amassing outside this building in a very public protest. Good luck trying to afford a good defense attorney with only a penny,” she smirked at Alex, who stood there, stupefied “what’s saying, ‘a man who represents himself has a fool for a client’?””

Max smirked, trying to look smug, and failing slightly

"You arrest me and people you care for are going to get hurt," he threatened "people like, say, Eliza Danvers," he smirked at Alex "that's a cute little house you grew in in Midvale, right by the beach, idyllic"

"Agent Danvers stand down!" Astra barked out as Alex soundly punched him in the gut

"Well, well, Agent Inzeli, my hero" Max coughed

"I'm not your 'hero'," Astra sneered "right now, I'm not even your worst nightmare. She is" she nodded towards Susan, who quickly marched over and pinned Max down on the desk

"And how are you going to explain my death? Suicide?" Max sneered

"Susan..." Alex warned

"Relax," the Martian growled out "I've gotten better at this," she turned to Max, her eyes glowing red "I'm not going to kill you, Max, I'm just going to make you _forget_ a few things" she put her hand on Max's forehead and closed her eyes, Max jerked and kicked before going limp, twitching every few seconds before Susan pulled back, allowing Max to unceremoniously slide to the floor in a crumpled heap

"I'm tempted to just leave him there" Astra muttered, sighing she picked him up and dumped into his chair, waving a vial of smelling salts under his nose...

******

“ _Continuing our top story, Maxwell Lord has just been arrested on seven counts of felony kidnapping and murder, with the Department of Justice announcing that it has found clear evidence that Lord was responsible for the creation of the Supergirl imposter known as 'Bizarro', which was apparently a result of various illegal medical experiments preformed by Lord on at least seven Jane Does, six of which reportedly died as a direct result of the experiments. Federal prosecutors believe that Lord’s recent spree of philanthropy was an attempt at drawing attention away from the various illegal medical experiments he was secretly performing. If convicted he is expected to receive life without the possibility of parole, or possibly even the death penalty_ ”

“I don’t believe it” Lucy muttered

“ _You_ don’t believe it?” Alex echoed “I was right there and _I_ still don’t believe it”

“Believe it,” Astra muttered as she came over “because it was extremely hard to pull off”

“So, I’m confused, how does this help us?” Alex asked

“People like Maxwell Lord gain power through reputation; even if he was broke and penniless people would still follow him because of his reputation as this genus inventor. This way, his reputation is permanently tarnished, no one will listen to him again and he can’t pay people to look the other way or become accomplices in whatever schemes he’ll think of”

“But what about Kara?” Alex wondered “even without his resources he still has evidence on who Supergirl really is”

“Actually, he doesn’t,” Astra smirked “the surveillance footage he had of you and she is totally ambiguous, all it shows is you and her on the couch watching TV. One could simply argue that Kara Danvers is merely a cosplayer who likes to dress up as Supergirl”

“You really play it close to the vest don’t you?” Lucy asked

“She does,” Alex nodded, she frowned at Astra "you were planning this from the beginning weren't you?" she asked "from the moment we found out he had designs on Kara"

"Yes, I did," Astra nodded "problem?" she asked

"Yes!" Alex hissed "why didn't you tell me?" she demanded

"The same reason why you didn't tell Kara about Lord having her under surveillance," Astra replied "if I'd told you, you would have gone off like the proverbial avenging angel and only gotten yourself either hurt or worse"

Alex sighed

"Just...don't do that again, all right?" she asked "the next time something like this happens, god forbid, I want you to tell me that you have a plan"

"Fair enough, Agent Danvers," Astra nodded "now, I believe that you and Agent Lane both have a prior engagement? Something about meeting Kara and hearing about her date with Mr. Olsen?"

Alex smirked

******

Astra frowned as she entered her apartment. Something was wrong. Drawing her gun, she quietly tip-toed through the small space, frowning as the sight of what looked like cobwebs stuck to the couch.

She gasped as something suddenly crashed into her, pinning her to the floor.

Then, darkness surrounded her...


	63. Black Mercy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fantasy can be killer. AU of "For the Girl Who Has Everything"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quadruple update!!

******

“Anything?” Alex asked as she stared at the flickering, static-filled monitors

“No,” Susan shook her head “this solar storm is one of the worst in recorded history, its wreaking havoc with our satellites”

“Great,” Alex sighed “and where the hell is Astra?”

“I haven’t seen her, ma’am” Susan shook her head

“You too?” Lucy asked as she came over “OK, this is getting weird. The Director was supposed to give a lecture to a group of new recruits today”

“And she didn’t show?” Alex asked, Lucy shook her head “and she’s not out on some classified mission?” she asked Susan, who also shook her head “OK, I’m calling Kara…”

******

“You sure she’s not just out on some secret DEO mission?” Kara asked as she followed Alex down the hall to Astra’s apartment

“No, she’s not” Alex confirmed, she glanced back at Winn and James, who’d accompanied Kara despite Alex’s protests

“Maybe she just, you know, overslept” Winn suggested

“Sure, if she ever actually slept” Alex scoffed as they stopped at the door to Astra apartment

“You got a key?” James asked

“Yeah,” Alex growled out, swinging back a leg and kicking the door in “Astra?” she called out as the group filed into the small apartment

“Oh my god!” Kara exclaimed, Alex turned, seeing a leg sticking out from behind the couch

“What is that?!” Winn exclaimed as they rounded the couch to see Astra lying unconscious on the floor, some kind of writhing, plant-like object firmly wrapped around her torso

“Don’t touch it!” Alex snapped as Kara moved to try and tear it off

“She’s still breathing” she reported as Alex pulled out her cell phone

“This is Agent Danvers; I need a medical evac now!”

******

“What the hell happened?” Lucy asked as the gurney was wheeled into the DEO

“I don’t know,” Alex shook her head, cringing at the sight of the entity still wrapped around Astra’s torso “she was found unconscious. The organism’s gripping her torso with over one hundred pounds of pressure”

“All right, let’s get her into the isolation lab, stat!” Dr. Hamilton barked out. Alex held out hand, stopping Kara and James and Winn from following

“What the hell are these guys doing here?!” Susan demanded as she angrily marched over “this is no place for the press, Ms. Danvers!” she added

“Where Supergirl goes, we go” James stated simply

“Yeah, and I’m actually in IT,” Winn piped up “so, you know, totally, definitely, not worth shooting”

Kara glanced back at the lab before turning back to the Martian in front of her

“If anything happens to her-- _anything_ \--I’m coming back for you” she warned

“If anything happens to her, I won’t stop you,” Susan nodded grimly “now get them out of here,” she ordered as she stormed into the lab, the door sliding shut behind her “you and sister are both _clearly in need_ of a refresher course in base security protocol!” she stated to Alex

“You don’t know them like I do, Susan,” Alex shook her head “they’re Kara’s family” she explained as Dr. Hamilton began to hook up vital monitors

“What’s her condition?” Susan sighed

“She’s unresponsive to outside stimuli, but her brain activity is normal. It’s like she doesn’t know what’s going on”

“What _the hell_ is that thing?” Susan demanded

“I have no idea,” Alex shook her head “OK,” she raked a hand through her hair “let’s start basic extraction,” she tapped out commands into the tablet PC in her hands, a large mechanical claw lowered from the ceiling “the claw is made of a titanium alloy,” she explained as the claw gently lowered and gripped the organism “we just need to pull it off, nice and easy”

“Claw’s secure” Susan reported

“Commencing extraction,” Alex nodded, pressing the enter key, watching as the claw pulled up. Instantly, Astra began to seize, body jerking and spasming “her blood pressure’s dropping!” Alex reported

“Damn it! Pull it off her!” Susan snarled as Astra’s heart rate plummeted

“OK, she’s crashing! I’m shutting it down!” Alex took a breath as the claw stopped pulling, sighing in relief as Astra’s vitals instantly stabilized

“What the hell was that?” Susan demanded

“A symbiotic defense,” Alex sighed “if we try to pull this thing off her by force, we kill Astra…”


	64. Rejection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and gang struggle to free Astra from the grip of the black mercy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Multiple update

******

“The creature wasn’t in Fort Rozz, but do you have a planet of origin?” Alex asked

“ _I’m sorry,_ ” Alura’s hologram began “ _I do not have sufficient information regarding this species_ ”

“Is it sentient?”

“ _I’m sorry, I do not have sufficient information regarding this species_ ”

“Damn it! Astra is relying on me!” Alex took a breath “I know that when you last saw her she was just a criminal, and maybe by your planet’s standards she still is, but…she’s changed, she wants to help people, to protect them, to stop whatever the Fort Rozz escapees are planning, and now she needs your help. You’re her _sister_ , you’re supposed to help her, to look out for her, like I looked out for Kara, like I’m still looking out for Kara,” she took another breath “my father…my father _died_ to save Astra’s life, he died to protect her. Now that may not mean anything to you, but it means _everything_ to me. Because I love her. I love her so much it hurts. Now tell me how to help her!” 

“ _I’m sorry, I do not have sufficient information regarding this species_ ”

Alex groaned as the doors to the hologram room quietly slid open

“Anything?” Kara asked

“No,” Alex sighed “shouldn’t you be at work?” she wondered

“Took a sick day,” Kara shrugged, she sighed as she stared at the hologram of her mother “you know, I used to hate her sometimes” she began

“Really?” Alex asked, surprised

“For leaving me, for sending me away to this strange world, filled with strange people,” she sighed “and then, after I found out what she did to Astra, and I…I didn’t know what to think anymore. I always thought of my mother as this, this… _saint_ , you know? Now? Now I know she was just like the rest of us, flawed and imperfect”

“Just like humans” Alex chuckled, the doors slid open again, Susan marching in

“Tell me everything about a creature known as the ‘black mercy’.” she demanded

“Susan?” Alex questioned

“ _The black mercy is a telepathic parasite,_ ” Alura’s hologram began “ _it traps its victims in life-like hallucinations, which grow more real with each passing moment, allowing the black mercy to feed_ ”

“How do you free someone from it’s grip?” Susan asked

“ _The victim must reject the fantasy themselves. However, this is difficult as the black mercy uses the victim’s own imagination against them, trapping them within their perfect fantasy life. There are no known accounts of a person surviving an encounter with a black mercy_ ”

“You figured out what it is?” Kara asked

“I think I did,” Susan nodded “I heard stories as a child of a creature that would attack you and imprison you in a fantasy life in order to feed off your body, but I’d never seen one. It wasn’t until I sensed a telepathic field coming from the thing attached to Astra that I realized that creature and this one might be one and the same” she explained

“But, even if this thing is a black mercy, you heard her, how are we supposed to get Astra to ‘reject’ her perfect fantasy life?” Kara demanded as she and Alex followed Susan out of the room and down the hall towards the isolation lab “we can’t even wake her up”

“We might be able to modify our virtual reality tech to allow one of us to actually link with Astra’s mind” Alex realized

“I already asked,” Susan explained “doing that is something that the lab would need days to do. Time that Astra doesn’t have”

“So, what do we do?” Kara demanded

“Well, let’s deal with one disaster at a time,” Susan explained, she nodded to iso lab, where Winn was busy fiddling with a VR headset, while Lucy stood watch “Mr. Schott has graciously offered to help”

“I thought you’d be mad at the security breach” Alex commented

“I’m beginning to see why your sister likes him” Susan nodded 

“I’ll go” Alex said

“Why can’t I go?” Kara asked

“Because if Non or one of his goons decide to attack, we’re going to need you out here” Alex explained

“I’ll see how he’s doing” Susan nodded, entering the lab

“Kara,” Alex sighed “look I need a favor”

“Sure” Kara nodded

“I know J’onn, he’s going to try and pull me out the second something goes wrong, whether I’ve reached Astra or not”

“I’ll stop him” Kara nodded as Susan leaned out the lab

“We’re ready”

******

“OK, the headset should connect you to Astra’s mind,” Winn explained as Alex sat down on a gurney set up next to Astra’s “so, you should be able to see what she’s seeing”

“Is this going to work?” Alex wondered

“I…don’t really know,” Winn admitted with a cringe “sorry”

“It’s fine” Alex sighed as she laid down, slipping the headset on

“Good luck” Susan said

“Thanks” Alex replied as she lowered the visor and Winn hit the switch…

******

_Colors swam, lights flashed. Alex jerked up with a gasp as the world rippled and swam around her before solidifying, Slowly, Alex stood up, staring at her location_

_“Oh my god,” she whispered as she realized where she was “I’m on Krypton”_


	65. Shattered Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams always end, no matter how much we don't want them to...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time! Enjoy! :=)

******

“Vitals are stable” Dr. Hamilton reported as Alex twitched slightly on the gurney

“The minute I see something I don’t like I’m pulling her out,” Susan warned, just as the ever-present tablet PC she had tucked under arm chirped “great,” she muttered as she looked down at it “the solar storm’s just knocked out our entire satellite network: we’re blind”

“We need them back up if we’re going to find out Non’s next move” Lucy sighed

“Has anybody considered that maybe Non’s next move this has to do with the satellites going down?” Winn spoke up “I mean, he could be using our own technology against us” he shrugged

“That’s an interesting theory, Mr. Schott,” Susan nodded “care to explore it with our team?” she offered

“Oh, no, I really should be here, for,” he gestured to the two gurneys “you know, for them”

“The best thing you can do for them right is to keep the world turning until Alex and Astra both get back to defend it” Susan pointed out. Winn frowned, glancing at Kara

“She’s right,” Kara nodded encouragingly at Winn “go, we’ll be fine”

Winn looked between Susan and Kara

“Uh, yeah, just, point me towards a computer” he shrugged

“I’ll take him” Lucy said, she smiled at Winn and gently led him out of the lab…

******

_Alex took a breath as she looked around the room she found herself in, staring out at the cityscape outside. Tall, futuristic buildings of glass and metal stretched up to an amber sky, a city that defied all known architectural principles on Earth_

_Moving the down a corridor, she slowly and cautiously crept along a brightly lit corridor, tensing as she heard voices. Slowly she crept around a corner into a large, round room, clearly a living room or family room of some sort. For a moment she paused watching the tableau in front of her. Sitting on a plush couch set into the wall, dressed in black and silver robes, Astra happily chatted with her twin, discussing what sounded like a prospective marriage, beside Alura sat a man who Alex didn’t recognize, but assumed from the Crest of El on his tunic that he was Kara’s father._

_Next to Astra, in while and blue robes, a young Kara beamed up at her aunt, this Kara looked like the young girl who Superman had dropped off on the Danvers front lawn twelve years ago._

_Astra’s fantasy life, Alex realized, a world where she never had endure the sting of Alura using her own daughter to trap her, a world where her niece was the wide-eyed little girl who hung onto her aunt’s every word, who still saw her aunt as her idol._

_Taking a breath, Alex marched into the room_

_”Astra” she called out as she walked into the room. The family of four stopped, Alura and Zor-El standing up as she approached_

_”Oh hello, Alex,” Astra greeted, smiling softly at her “you’re late, we expected you here an hour ago”_

_Alex blinked, both a little giddy at the thought that she was a part of Astra’s fantasy life, that she meant that much to Astra, and confused. It was dream logic she realized, Alex being on Krypton was perfectly normal because, apparently, she meant that much to Astra in real life_

_”Astra, you’re under the influence of a black mercy,” Alex explained, slowly approaching her “its created this illusion to incapacitate you, I’m here to take you home”_

_”I am home, as you can see” Astra replied easily_

_”No,” Alex shook her head “I mean back to Earth”_

_”Earth?” Astra asked, confusion clearly growing_

_”It’s where you’ve been for the past twelve years” Alex explained, she glanced at Alura and Zor-El, noting their unease_

_”Aunt Astra” Kara tugged insistently on Astra’s sleeve, hiding behind her, her expression fearful_

_”It’s all right, little one” Astra soothed, squeezing her hand. She turned to Alex, suddenly backhanding her across the face…_

******

At that same moment, in the real world, Alex’s vitals suddenly started fluctuating wildly, as Alex herself suddenly jerked on the gurney, choking and gagging

“We’re losing her!” Susan barked out “pull her out! Now!” she ordered

“Just give her some more time!” Kara insisted “if we pull Alex out now, we lose Astra!”

“Get out of the way!” Susan snarled, reaching for the headset

“She asked me to stop you!” Kara insisted

Susan froze

“ _What?_ ” she hissed

“She knew that you would try to stop her if something went wrong” Kara explained.

Susan angrily slammed a hand down a lab bench

“I am the one responsible for her safety! This is on my head!” she snarled “damn it, Kara! She is your sister!”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Kara countered “I know that Alex reminds you of your daughters, but I also know that we pull her out now, she will _never_ look at us the same way again, you know that”

Susan sighed tiredly

“I can’t go through that again” she whispered

“I know,” Kara soothed “I _know_ , I don’t want to lose her either, either of them, but…Alex is strong. They both are. You just have to trust them”

Susan slowly backed away from the gurneys…

******

_Alex gasped as reality swam and rippled again, suddenly finding herself in a large, domed room, a pair of handcuff-like objects secured to her wrists. Looking around, she found Astra standing across the room with Alura, Zor-El and Kara, along with a doppelganger of Alex. More dream logic, Alex realized, if she wouldn’t play by the black mercy’s rules, then obviously it wasn’t the ‘real’ Alex, so Astra’s mind compensated, creating a fantasy Alex_

_”The High Council has rendered our verdict on the alien imposter,” Alura proclaimed “we impose the maximum penalty; lifetime imprisonment in the Phantom Zone”_

_”Astra!” Alex kicked as two guards grabbed her arms “if they do this, we’ll both be trapped here, until the black mercy kills us!”_

_”She’s tying to confuse you, sister” Alura soothed, her voice sickly sweet to Alex’s ears_

_”Why do you think they’re trying to silence me?” Alex demanded as she struggled against the guard’s grips “it’s because they’re afraid of what I have to say!”_

_”Don’t listen to her” Other Alex urged_ ”

_”I know that it hurts!” Alex urged as the guards tried to wrestle her away “I know that life isn’t perfect, and I can’t promise you one without pain, no one can, and I know it can hard and it can so lonely. Especially for you. I wish could’ve had this life. But, it isn’t real, and you know it, Astra! Deep down you know it!”_

_The world shook violently, Astra was fighting back against the black mercy, even if she wasn’t aware of it yet_

_With an angry bellow, Alex smashed her elbows in the guard’s faces, charging across the room towards Astra, even as Alura and Zor-El tried to block her path_

_”My father died to save you!” she urged “he asked you to look at his daughters! Me and Kara! Astra, please! You have to remember!!” she yelled “I can’t chose this for you! And I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! But please remember! You have to remember!”_

__

_”Jeremiah…” Astra whispered as another, stronger, tremor rippled through the room_

____

_”Yes! Remember that life!” Alex pleaded as the guards piled on top of her and began to drag her away “with Kara! And J’onn! And me!” she urged as another treamor rippled through the building “Kara needs you! Earth needs you! **I need you!!!!** ”_

____

_The guards piled on top of her, pinning her down_

_____ _

_”No” Alura moved in front of Astra, Astra slowly reached out, gently cupping her sister’s cheek_

_____ _

_”I wish this was real,” she said soflty “but it’s not. No matter how much I want it to be” she glanced back at Kara, slowly shaking her head_

_____ _

_”No, no, Aunt Astra!” Kara shot out a hand, gripping Astra’s arm tightly “ **we will never let you leave** ” she suddenly proclaimed in a deep, inhuman voice. Astra tore herself away from the illusion and lunged for Alex, reaching out for her as everything went white…_

____

******

____

Alex sat up with a gasp, tearing off the headset as she swung her legs off the gurney

____

“Alex! Are you OK?!” Kara asked as she hurried over. Alex took a breath, rushing over to see Astra still limp on the gurnery, the black mercy still firmly attached

____

Slowly, she turned back to Kara and Susan

____

“You pulled me out?” she whispered "how could you?" she hissed, she whirled on Kara “I told you to stop her!!” she lunged, pinning the Martian aginst the wall “SHE WAS ABOUT TO CHOSE US!! SHE WAS ABOUT TO COME HOME!! WHY DID YOU PULL ME OUT?!! WHY?!!”

____

“Alex!” Kara wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist, pulling her off Susan “she didn’t do anything!!”

____

“Then how did I get out?!” Alex demanded

____

“Because you did it,” she turned to see Winn and Lucy rushing into the room “you did it” Winn repeated. Turning, Alex watched as the black mercy twitched, its grip loosening as it slowly slid down and off Astra’s body, falling the floor in heap, quickly shriveling into a dead husk. Slowly, Astra tugged the breathing mask off as she slowly sat up

____

“Astra!” Alex hurried over to her “hey, you OK?”

____

For a moment Astra simply sat there, blinking. Slowly, she stood up and walked over to the shriveled up black mercy, staring at it for a long moment

____

“Aunt Astra?” Kara questioned soflty

____

Astra slowly turned to face them, a blank expression on her face, but when she spoke, her voice was raw and anguished

____

“ _Who did this?_ ” she hissed…

____


	66. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra struggles to recover from the black mercy, Winn gives her an unexpected pep talk, and then helps figure out what Non is planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time! Enjoy :=)

******

Astra stepped out of the shower stall feeling somewhat more…’normal’ (if such a thing actually existed) after having showered the slime and stench of the black mercy off (she knew that there were some things that water couldn’t clean, but she’d deal with that later). Wrapping the towel around her body, she moved to the locker marked ‘A. Inzeli’ and took out a set of standard DEO-issue clothes; a black polo shirt, black cargo pants, and heavy-duty combat boots.

She was just lacing up the boots when someone shuffled into the room

“Oh…s-s-sorry,” looking up she saw Winn awkwardly standing there in the doorway to the small, unisex locker room. Seeing that he was apparently rooted to the spot, Astra ignored him and picked up the other boot “uh…” she looked up to see him take a tentative step forward “how are you feeling?” he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as he nerviously fidgeted, looking anywhere but her “’cause, I mean, I know that we, you know, basically just…yanked you out of heaven. That’s, that’s gotta be pretty traumatic. At least, at least, it would be, for, you know…me,” he tried for a smile and failed. He sighed and stared down at his shoes “look,” he began “I know that you and I don’t know each other…well, at all, really. But, I know how that feels, to have everything just…ripped away from you,” he took a breath “when my dad was arrested, my mom just…left, couldn’t deal with it I guess, and I ended up in a foster home, which is basically a bunch of strangers—nice, well-meaning strangers, but still strangers—telling you that you should be grateful that someone’s taking you in,” he fidigeted some more and refused to meet her eyes, even though she was now staring at him intently “I guess, what I’m trying to say, is…if you don’t want to talk to Kara, or, or Alex about…this, you can talk to me….if, if you want, I guess” he trailed off, looking like he wasn’t sure what exactly had possessed him to come down here and try to talk to her

“You know nothing of me” she stated firmly, watching at he flinched and tried not to show it

“Right. Yeah,” he mumbled “sorry, I’ll just…go away now. Sorry” he began to awkwardly shuffle out of the room

“Winn,” she finally sighed, he stopped “thank you for your counsel” she said honestly, he gave her a rather charming half-grin

“Yeah, sure, I mean, you know, anytime” he gave her an awkward thumbs up, which she returned

“Now then,” she began as she finished lacing up her boots “I’m told you might have an idea about why all of this happened?”

******

“Non and his army were using the solar storms and the black mercy as a distraction from their next move,” Astra began as she stood in front of the monitors in Command, looking for all the world as if what she endured hadn’t had any affect on her. But Alex knew better, she could see the tight set of Astra’s jaw, the dimmness in her eyes, the ever-so slight tremor in her hands as she turned to Winn “now, Agent Vasquez and Agent Lane tell me that you have a theory as to what that is, Mr. Schott?” she continued

“Uh, well,” Winn began “as I said before I though it might have something to do with satellite signals. And since I spend most of my days looking at satellite signals I decided to anylize them with your computers. Which, by the way, if you guys are, like, ever having a fire sale, you could just let me know”

“Winn…” Kara coughed

“Right! Sorry,” Winn blushed “so, uh, anyway, I found some sort of hidden transmissions buried in the C-band spectrum” he explained

“I’m still not seeing a connection” Astra noted

“Uh, well,” Winn tapped a key, bringing a map of the city “they all use Lord Tech servers, which, incidentally, are all housed in the building that Non and his troops attacked”

“Non’s using Lord’s technology to override the civilian network,” Alex realized “he didn’t _take_ anything, he _left_ something behind. A virus”

“A virus that does what though?” Lucy wondered

“Nothing good,” Astra grumbled “how many more satellite farms does Lord Technologies handle within city limits?” she wondered

“Uh, six” Winn answered

“They’ve got to be the next targets” Lucy exclaimed, Astra nodded

“Scramble our teams to all six locations,” she ordered as the room burst into a flurry of activity at her order “agent Lane stay here and coordinate our efforts, Agent Vasquez we’ll need you on site”

“Yes, ma’am”

“Mr. Schott,” Astra turned to him, smirking “nicely done,” she congratulated “care to stay around for a little while longer?” she offered

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Winn shrugged “I mean, if, if you guys don’t mind?”

“Good,” Astra nodded “we could use your help to try and decrypt these transmissions,” she nodded at Lucy “work with him” she ordered…

******

As the strike teams all loaded up at the DEO’s helipad, Alex glanced back towards one of the other choppers, seeing Astra strap herself in, and Alex couldn’t stamp down the sudden feeling of unease she felt, as if something was about to happen, something bad…


	67. Fallen Heroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one is truly invulnerable...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!

******

They found Non at one of the satellite farms. Readying her gun, Alex clipped on her line and opened fire as she repelled down, Non spun as the bullets hit his back, harmlessly bouncing off him, glowering, he sent a blast of heat vision up, severing Alex’s line

“It’s over, Non!” she bellowed out as she frantically clambered to her feet from where she’d fallen onto the concrete, taking note of the box-like device he held in his hand as well as the object strapped to his back

“I am growing tired of your interference,” he hissed as he suddenly shot over to her at superspeed, wrapping a hand around her throat “I wonder,” he began as he lifted her up off her feet “what significance does Astra hold for you? Is she thinking of you?” he taunted “she has everything her heart desire’s now, I wonder if that means you?”

“Is that why you sent the black mercy after her?” Alex wondered as she struggled for breath, even as Non’s grip tightened “because you still care about her?” she doubted that, but who knew

“It is far better then she deserves for her betrayal,” he hissed “Ursa wished her dead. Consider it a kindness, human,” there was a sudden whoosh as a dark figure suddenly slammed into Non, knocking him away from Alex “I have enough of your defiance, Kara Zo--” he stopped as he spun around, for a moment he stood there, staring “I thought all of your kind were dead” he hissed

“ _ **I am the last,**_ ” J’onn J’onzz declared “ _ **Earth is my home now, and I will**_ not _**let you take it from me**_ ” 

Non suddenly lunged, delivering a quick two-fisted jab to J’onn’s chin. J’onn staggered back even as Non lunged, delivering a hard punch to the gut before gripping J’onn by the shoulders and flinging him high into the air.

Turning back to the satellite contol panel, he ripped one of the panels open, placing the box inside, it shimmered and seemed to ‘melt’ into the wiring of the box. Alex drew her pistol, taking aim, but before she could fire, J’onn suddenly swooped in, knocking Non sideways again. Both aliens sprung to their feet, Non shot forward, swinging an arm out at J’onn, but J’onn phased through Non, knocking him to the ground with a punch to the back before grabbing him from behind in a bear hug. With an angry roar, Non shot upwards, dragging J’onn with him, the two of them colliding with a nearby building, carving a large gouge in its side before they both came crashing back down onto the concrete in two inelegant sprawls.

Non got to his feet first, drawing a knife from his belt as he approached J’onn

Alex fired. Non spun to confront her in a blur of superspeed, there was a flash of green and Alex suddenly gasped as a sharp pain suddenly tore through her. She stared at Non’s face, inches away from her own, as he sneered at her. Slowly looking down, she stared at the bright green blade now buried to the hilt in her stomach

A sword, she realized. A kryptonite sword

“I crafted this blade for Astra,” he hissed as he wrenched the blade free from her body “fear not, human,” he rasped as he stood over her prone form “you wil die a soldier’s death…”

******

“BP’s falling!”

“We need to stop this bleeding!”

“She’s crashing!”

“Prep for defib. Charge the paddles! Two hundred joules!”

“Charging…charged!”

“Clear!”

“No response!”

“Damn it! Three hundred! Clear!”

“Damn it! Come on, Alex!”


	68. Heatbeats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did Alex make it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! :=)

******

Five hours

That’s how long the surgery took. Five hours. And in those five hours, Alex’s heart had stopped twice. Now she lay unconscious on a gurney in the DEO’s intensive care unit, skin frighteningly pale and ashen, hair limp and matted from dried blood.

Astra balled her hands into fists as she watched Alex’s limp form from the other side of the glass, she could feel her fingernails digging into her palms, hard enough to possibly pierce her bulletproof skin and draw blood. Slowly, she became aware of a presence at her side

“Bravo and Delta never reported in,” Susan spoke quietly “after what happened to Alex, I don’t think they ever will”

“No,” Astra agreed quietly “they won’t. Any word on the device that Supergirl brought in?”

“The lab techs are picking it apart right now,” Susan answered “how is she?”

“Resting,” Astra amswered “thank you, J’onn” she said

“You would’ve done the same for me” the Martian dismissed as she walked away

“I’m not so sure” Astra muttered…

******

Hours later, Astra quietly sat by Alex’s bedside, awkwardly holding her hand. The blade had lacerated her liver and tore through one kidney and her spleen, leaving a bloodly mess that the DEO doctors struggled to finally repair.

It should have been her, Astra knew, she was the one that blade was meant for; it should have been her to take it. A quiet knock broke her out of her thoughts, looking up, she found Winn standing awkwardly in the doorway, an agent behind him, watching him carefully

“How’s she doing?” Winn asked as he awkwardly shuffled inside, grabbing a nearby chair and quietly setting down next to Astra’s

“Resting,” Astra answered, she frowned at Winn “shouldn’t you be home by now?” she wondered

“Kara, she mentioned that Alex needed a kidney transplant and that no one else in here was a match, so…,” he shrugged “I asked to get tested; turns out I’m a match,” he chuckled a bit bitterly “yay me. Anyway, the surgery’s tomorrow”

“You didn’t have to do that” Astra commented

“Yes I did,” Winn nodded “what you guys do here, it…you guys are fighting a war that nobody else knows about, you’re all fighting and dying so the rest of us can remain blissfully ignorant. Knowing what I know, I can’t do anything else _but_ try to help”

A long moement of silence passed between them

“Winn…,” Astra began “how would you like to come work for the DEO?” she offered at his stunned expression she continued “if it weren’t for you I’d be dead by now and Non and Ursa would have succeeded in their plan, but you helped to stop them, you found the hidden transmissions, you modified the VR tech to allow Alex to pull me out of the black mercy. Not to mention the fact that you found tangible proof linking Maxwell Lord to Bizarro,” she turned to him and gave him a smile, a genuine smile “we could use someone like you on our side. What do you say?"

Winn let out a breathless laugh

“I say, uh, sign me up” he beamed, Astra chuckled and held out her hand

“Welcome to the DEO, agent Schott”

“Thanks,” Winn mumbled as they shook hands “so, uh, what do I call you?” he wondered “is it ‘director’? ‘general’? ‘general Astra’?”

“She’s prefers just being called ‘ma’am’.”

They both turned at the voice, seeing Alex slowly open her eyes

“Hey” she greeted weakly

“Hey,” Astra laughed breathlessly as Winn grinned and waved shyly “how are you feeling?” Astra asked

“Like I got implaed with a sword,” Alex chuckled, she winced “ow, it hurts to laugh. Is Kara OK?”

“She’s fine” Astra answered

“Oh my god! Kara!!” Winn suddenly exclaimed “we’ve got to tell her the good news!”

“I think she already knows” Astra nodded to the door, where Kara stood. She quickly rushed in to Alex’s side

“Are you OK?” she asked tearfully

“I’m been better,” Alex grinned weakly “you?”

“I’m OK now that you’re OK” Kara breathed out

“Good,” Alex nodded sleepily “that’s good,” she muttered, scowling “hmm, can’t keep my eyes open”

“That’s the drugs,” Astra explained quietly, gently taking Alex’s hand “you just rest, love,” she whispered as Alex gently drifted off again. She looked up at Kara and Winn "we should let her get some rest," she suggested as they both nodded and shuffled out of the lab "Winn, go home and rest up, you've got surgery in the morning." Astra reminded him "I'll have agent Lane escort you out" she said as the agent who'd been shadowing Winn gently led him away

Now alone with Kara, Astra tentatively took her niece's hands

"She's going to be all right" she insisted

"I know," Kara nodded "but she wouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place if it weren't for you," she hissed "I can't work with you anymore, OK? My sister, my _sister_ was almost killed today by your psycho ex-husband," she sighed and raked a hand through her hair "just..." she trailed off and then turned on her heel and stalked away

Leaving Astra alone

As she always was...


	69. Chains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our past actions can chain us down, forcing us to doubt our present actions. AU of "Truth, Justice, and the American Way"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Multiple update!! :=)

******

Astra jabbed at the punching bag, watching as it swayed and swung from her blows. Readjusting her stance she began to kick at it, trying to ignore the memories flashing by her mind’s eye

 _”Take care of my girls”_ Jeremiah had said

 _”You’re supposed to look after them! After both of them! You told me that you wanted to honor Jeremiah’s last request”_ Superman had said

 _”I can’t work with you anymore…My sister almost died because of your psycho ex-husband”_ Kara had accused, rightfully so.

With an angry yell, Astra slammed a fist into the bag, it broke free of its moorings, flying across the room to the hit the far wall, breaking in half in the process, sand spilling out onto the floor

“That help?”

Sighing angrily, Astra wiped non-existent sweat off her brow (she’d gone native, she realized) and turned towards Susan

“Not particularly,” she sighed “how is she?”

“Recovering,” Susan nodded “the surgery went off without a hitch,” she reported “Alex is resting, and so is Mr. Schott, minus one kidney”

“You didn’t come down here just to tell me that” Astra reasoned

“No,” Susan nodded, she held out her tablet “we’ve got a rouge, Fort Rozz prisoner number 2444,” she explained, the prisoner’s file on the small screen “he’s been hiding out in National City under a human alias of ‘Gabriel Philips’. Surveillance spotted him yesterday coming and going to an abandoned warehouse in the industrial area”

******

“…don’t let the pretty face fool you,” Astra continued her briefing to the strike team “this guy feeds on rotting flesh. Use extreme caution when apprehending,” she warned “they bite”

“All right, you heard the Director,” Lucy barked out “let’s move!”

“Agent Lane,” Astra gently touched Lucy’s arm “you going to be OK leading this mission?” she asked, Lucy smirked up at her

“I’ve done this before,” she replied “should be easy as pie”

******

The mission went off without a hitch. Until it didn’t. About two minutes after the strike team breached the warehouse, gunfire erupted over the comms.

“Agent Lane, report!” Astra demanded as the gunfire died down

“ _We were ambushed,_ ” Lucy panted out over the comm. “ _we’ve got multiple injuries, the target is gone_ ”

“He fled?” Astra asked, sharing an incredulous look with Susan

“ _No,_ ” Lucy sighed “ _he was abducted_ ”

Astra frowned

“Get back to base” she ordered

******

“Your masked man looks like he’s using some very expensive extraterrestrial toys” Astra commented as she studied the photos taken from the strike team’s helmet cams

“Well, where he did take _our_ target?” Lucy wondered “and why?”

“Who knows,” Astra shrugged “the vulture could be wanted on a dozen worlds across a dozen different star systems. We could be dealing with an interstellar bounty hunter”

“You don’t think…?” Susan began

“No,” Astra shook her head “if it was him, we’d know. Trust me”

“Maybe its just some guy with a beef to settle,” Kara said as she marched over “why didn’t you guys call me?” she asked

“I figured you might like some time off” Astra answered, Kara scowled

“If I wanted time off I’ll fill out a request with HR. Until then, if there’s a dangerous alien on the loose, I should be informed, _ma’am,_ ” she glanced at Lucy “is he human?”

“Too much armor” Lucy shook her head

“I’ve run every image we have of this guy through our database,” Susan began “there’s no match”

“Well, maybe if he’s done this before, maybe he’s had run ins with local law enforcement” Kara suggested

“Could be,” Lucy nodded “we could interview NCPD, see if any missing persons are our missing aliens”

“Get on it in the morning,” Astra nodded “and take Mr. Schott with you if he’s up for it. Time to put him to work”

“Yes, ma’am” Lucy nodded

“In the meantime, go get some rest, Lucy” Astra ordered, she looked towards Kara, only to see her cape fluttering as she turned the corner and left. Sighing, Astra stood up

“Ma’am?” Susan questioned “where will you be?”

“The shooting range,” Astra growled out “doing target practice”

“Sounds nice and restful” Lucy muttered

******

“Hi” Astra whispered as she quietly slipped into the darkened room, Alex sat up as she walked in

“Hey,” Alex grinned “so, apparently I now have Winn’s kidney?”

“You do” Astra confirmed as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed

“Hope this doesn’t mean that I’m going to turn into a giant nerd” Alex joked, Astra chuckled

“Alas, no,” she sighed “how are you feeling?” she asked quietly

“Not too bad,” Alex admitted “it still hurts to laugh. Or swallow. Or breath deeply,” she chuckled “but yeah, I’m good,” she frowned “how are you?”

“Not well,” Astra sighed, she reached out and tentatively took Alex’s hand “I almost lost you” she whispered

“But you didn’t” Alex insisted

“That doesn’t make me feel any better”

“Didn’t think it would,” Alex sighed “how’s Kara holding up?”

“Kara,” Astra sighed, leaning back into her chair “Kara is…torn; she blames me for your injury. And I think she’s right,” Alex frowned but kept silent as Astra continued “if I hadn’t recruited you, if I had just let you be, then maybe, just maybe—”

“…maybe I’d be a brain-dead junkie living on the street somewhere,” Alex interrupted “Astra, you _saved my life_ , OK? I was on a slippery slope back then, I was _this_ close to going home with the wrong guy, and once I did that, I could have been raped. Or worse. So, go ahead, blame yourself for helping me to cut back on my drinking, I stopped clubbing altogether. And that is all _your_ fault, General Astra In-Ze”

Astra smiled slowly, reaching out and squeezing Alex’s hand

“Thank you, love” she whispered…


	70. Justice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winn and Lucy interview NCPD, Kara and James have a talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVENTY!!!! ENJOY!! :=)

******

Winn winced as he gently eased out of the car

“You sure you’re up for this?” Lucy asked as she steadied him “you just had major surgery” she reminded him

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Winn waved a hand “besides,” he added as he straightened up “my first day as a DEO agent? Can’t miss this”

Lucy looked doubtfull, but shrugged as he straightened up

“OK,” she said slowly “if you say so,” during the short walk into NCPD headquaters they were both silent. It wasn’t until they where walking into the Major Crimes department that Lucy spoke up again “OK, ground rules,” she began “don’t mention the DEO, don’t mention aliens, and definitely don’t mention Supergirl,” she paused and looked him up and down “actually, maybe you shouldn’t just say anything”

“Why not?” Winn asked “mention Supergirl I mean”

“Because a lot cops don’t like what they see as a costume vigilante on their turf,” she explained “ir doesn’t help matters they put their life on the line every day—”

“…and the bullerproof superhero gets all the glory,” Winn finished with a nod “got it, don’t mention the folks in the capes”

“Good boy” Lucy knocked on the door leading to Major Crimes

“Help you?” one of the two detectives in the room asked

“Agents Lane and Schott, FBI” Lucy introduced herself and Winn. One of the two men, a tall, lanky black man, nodded

“I’m Warren, he’s Draper,” he introduced himself and his companion, presumably his partner “what can we do for you folks?”

“We’re investigating a recent abduction in National City,” Winn spoke up, he held out his tablet, displaying an image of their kidnapper “this is our primary suspect”

Lucy blinked, amazed as how _easily_ he’d done that, he must’ve watched a lot of cop shows or something

“Heh,” Warren chuckled, bringing Lucy back into focus “Halloweeen already, huh?”

“Any help would be apprecicated” she pitched in

“Feds come a’crawlin’,” Warren mused “you guys must be embarresed” he commented

“Doesn’t really matter who helps as long as the job gets done,” Lucy pointed out “I mean look at you guys”

“Meaning?” Warren asked, tensing

“Well, crime in National City has gone down since Supergirl showed up,” Lucy explained “but, you guys don’t mind that she helps, do you?”

Warren smirked and straightened his tie

“Got an interview with a doughnut,” he finally grunted out “wouldn’t want to be late” he sneered, stalking past Lucy and Winn and out of the room

“Sorry about Warren,” the other detective, Draper, said as soon as Warren left “he’s a good cop,” he insisted “he’s just not…enlightened”

“Is there anything you can tell us?” Winn asked

“Not much,” Draper shrugged “we don’t know who this guy is; we do know that he’s been kicking around for the past couple of months, though”

“There’ve been other kidnappings?” Lucy asked

“At least five that we know of,” Draper nodded, holding out a file folder to her “but, uh, he’s not just kidnapping them,” he explained, opening the file “we found all five of the bodies down the river, all of them decapitated”

“Geez,” Winn groaned, turning away from the photos “how did we not hear about this?” he wondered

“Well, the mayor wants this kept quiet,” Draper explained “mostly, because all of the victims were, well…werid”

“Like how?” Lucy asked

“One of them had gills,” Draper answered, gesturing towards his neck “like a fish”

“Ahem” Winn coughd, he nodded towards the hall, where Detective Warren could be seen heading back to the office. Lucy quickly shut the file and slid it back towards Draper

“Thank you for your help, Detective” she said, he nodded

“Sure”

******

“OK, I’m sorry,” Winn began “but _which_ one of us wasn’t suppose to mention Supergirl?”

“I know, I know,” Lucy sighed “I just didn’t like his attitude. And what about you?” she asked “you were prefect in there, no suttering, no stammering, what’s up?”

“I dunno,” Winn shrugged “pain killers combined with my love of _Law & Order?_” he suggested, he frowned and glanced back over his shoulder “hey, anything about that guy strike you as funny?” he asked

“Which one?”

“Draper, he…I don’t know, there was something… _off_ about the guy” Winn shrugged

“Well, right now we’ve got bigger problems,” Lucy muttered “like the fact that there’s an alien serial killer loose in National City…”

******

Meanwhile, at CatCo Worldwide Media, Kara banged away at her keyboard with slightly more force then was nessicary. She was having a great day, Alex was still recovering at the DEO, Winn had been drafted by the DEO (and had donated a kidney to Alex, which, actually, was a good thing), and top it all off, Ms. Grant had hired a new assistant, a Siobhan Smythe

“Kara?” she looked up to see James standing over her, frowing “you OK?” he asked

“I’m fine, James” she answered, steadfastidly ignoring his concered look

“Really?” James asked “because you just crushed your phone,” he pointed out. Looking down, Kara scowled at the handset for her desk phone, now nothing more then shards of broken plastic “come here,” James quietly led her over to his office and shut the door “talk to me” he encouraged. Kara huffed and paced

“Its fine”

“No. Its not,” he pointed out “look, I know you’re mad about Alex, hell I would be too, but you can’t blame Astra”

“Why not?” Kara demanded “she’s the one who recruited her in the first place!”

“OK, yes,” James agreed “but you’re acting like she drafted Alex, which we both know isn’t true, Alex knew the risks involved when she joined the DEO and she was willing to accept those risks”

“She was being an idiot!” Kara argued “I can handle that kind of risk, she can’t!”

“Why? Because you have powers?”

“Yes!”

“Kara,” James gently griped her shoulders “you are not god,” he said softly, yet firmly “OK? You do not get to decide what people can and cannot do simply because you have powers,” Kara huffed out an angry breath “besides,” James added “I don’t think this is really about Alex, I think this is about Astra”

“She could have found me!” Kara finally snapped “we could have been a family again!”

“No, you couldn’t have,” James pointed out softly “because you both changed. Losing your home like that changed you both,” he explained “even if she had shown up on your doorstep after what happened to Jeremiah, you know it wouldn’t have been the same”

Kara sighed, defeated

“I need to get back to work” she finally mumbled, knowing that he was right and hating herself and him for it…


	71. Extreme Predjudice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex tries to get Kara to stop blaming Astra for what happened, then Kara and Lucy try to stop the Jailer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Trigger warning for mentions of past drug use

******

“ _Hello, Kara Danvers’ phone_ ”

Lucy blinked and briefly looked down to confirm that she’d dialed the right number

“James?” she asked

“ _Oh, hi, Lucy_ ” James greeted

“Uh, hi,” she replied “Kara’s still not taking my calls, I see”

“ _Afraid not,_ ” James agreed “ _can I take a message?_ ”

“What are you? Her answering service now as well as her boyfriend?”

“ _Apparently so_ ” James chuckled

“Well, look, tell Kara to get her head out of her ass and get down here, it’s important,” Lucy explained “also tell her that her attitude right now is doing nothing to make sure Alex gets any better”

“ _Well do_ ” James replied

“Ugh,” Lucy hung up and looked up to see Astra watching her “don’t ask” she said

“Do tell” Astra replied…

******

“OK, so based on the names of the victims found by the river, we think that they were these five Fort Rozz escapees” Winn explained

“Why would a prisoner kill other prisoners?” Kara asked

“He’s not just killing them, he’s executing them” Lucy pointed out

“OK, so what’s the connection?” Kara asked

“Nothing that we can see,” Astra sighed “different species, different crimes, none of them were even cellmates”

“Wait a minute,” Winn sat up, fingers flying over the keys “watch this, look what happens when you line up the order in which they were killed”

“Their prisoner numbers line up,” Astra realized “which means that our next victim is…” she tapped a key “prisoner number 2445,” she read as the profile popped up on the screen “works as a professor of astronomy at UCNC”

“I’ll go” Kara turned and marched out of the room

“Nice seeing you” Winn muttered…

******

Less than half an hour later Kara stormed back into Command and dropped a baton and a length of chain onto the operations table

“Dark star alloy,” Astra mused as she fingered one of the links in the chain “definitely not from Earth”

“Why would he take that professor?” Kara wondered “he seemed harmless enough”

“Real name ‘Luzano’,” Astra identified as she pulled up his file “he was a drug runner until he was imprisoned by—”

“Don’t,” Kara said sharply “now is not the time to talk about my family”

“Regardless,” Astra commented “we still need to find out whose doing this and why”

“Ma’am?” Susan stepped up to Kara “you’re sister wants to see you” she announced…

******

Kara hovered in the doorway to Alex’s room uncertainly

“Hey” she said softly, Alex looked up, grinning

“Hey,” she greeted “come on in, I could use the company”

“Uh, how are you feeling?” Kara asked as she sat down in the chair next to the bed

“Do you care?” Alex asked “because if you did you would’ve come by” she pointed out not unkindly

“I did” Kara insisted

“Kara,” Alex sighed “you came to see me once, and I barely remember that because I got woke up from surgery. You didn’t even come to see me after they gave me Winn’s kidney”

“I’ve been busy” Kara explained

“You’ve been terrified you mean,” Alex countered, she reached out and took Kara’s hand “James called me,” she explained “I get it,” she said firmly “I do. But, don’t you think that Astra’s beating herself up enough about this without you adding to it? That J’onn isn’t either? He was right there, and he couldn’t stop Non”

“But, if Astra hadn’t recruited you—” Kara tried

“Kara, stop, OK? Astra saved my life when she recruited me, all right? You didn’t see how bad things were for me back then. The only reason you didn’t see any of it was because I hid it from you and you didn’t _want_ to see it” she explained

“You were fine,” Kara dismissed “OK, maybe you drank a little too much and partied too hard, but you were fine”

“No. I wasn’t,” Alex insisted “did you know that about a week before Astra recruited me that I shot myself up with crack?” she asked

“What?” Kara hissed, aghast

“That’s right,” Alex nodded “the alcohol wasn’t doing it anymore and one of my so-called ‘friends’ got me to try crack cocaine. Now, I got lucky because Astra found me when she did, if she hadn’t, who knows what could have happened. I could be dead by now for all we know,” she squeezed Kara’s hand “I know that you’re mad at Astra right now, for what happened to me, for not finding you after she learned that you were still alive, and yeah, maybe she wasn’t wrong to do that, but she did what she thought was best. That’s all any of us can do in this world, try to do our best. Even superheroes”

A gentle knock on the glass caught their attention, and both sisters turned to see Lucy standing on the other side waving

“Go,” Alex urged, she smiled “I’m not going anywhere”

Still looking a little shell-shocked, Kara dimly nodded and stood up

******

“Everything OK?” Lucy asked as Kara came out

“Yeah,” she mumbled “what’s up?”

“OK, remember that baton you brought in? It’s standard police issue”

“Police issue?” Kara echoed, Lucy nodded

“We found a DNA match too,” she explained “its Detective Warren”

“Warren? That cop that you and Winn interviewed who hates me?”

“The very same,” Lucy nodded “what do you say, Supergirl? Want to go catch a bad guy?”

Kara grinned, the first time she’d smiled since Alex’s injury

“Ooh, I’ve been wanting to catch a corrupt cop ever since Alex and I binge-watched _The Wire_ ” she grinned

******

With Lucy in a DEO-issue SUV and Kara flying above, they tracked down Warren while he and Draper were on patrol. Lucy had to admit when Kara simply dropped down in front of Warren’s car was pretty cool.

Detective Warren, apparently, didn't think so

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Warren demanded as he climbed out, glaring at Kara “trying to kill somebody?”

“No, I’m stopping a murderer” Kara retorted

“What?” Warren demanded as Lucy climbed out of the SUV, gun drawn

“Detective Draper, step back please” she requested, as Warren looked between the two women

“What are you doing?” he demanded “I’m one of the good guys!”

“He’s right you know” Draper said suddenly from behind Kara, Lucy turned just in time to see him fire at her over Kara’s shoulder. She grunted as the bullet hit home, knocking her to ground _’Please hit the vest,’_ she thought frantically _’please the vest’_ as there was another gunshot and Warren cried out

“Lucy!” she dimly saw Kara crouching over her “its you” she heard Kara accuse, then there was a bright flash of blue light, and then nothing…


	72. Extreme Measures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do the ends ever justify the means?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! Warning gets dark at the end

******

“ _Agent Lane, respond,_ ” Lucy groaned, wishing the voice would go away “ _Agent Lane,_ ” the voice repeated “ _Lucy, respond_ ”

“I’m here” she coughed as awareness came crashing back

“ _Thank god,_ ” Astra sighed “ _what’s your status?_ ” she asked. Lucy glanced over to where Warren had been, he lay on the ground, blood oozing from a wound near his shoulder, but he was still breathing

“We’ve got an officer down,” she reported, wincing as she prodded her arm, where Draper’s bullet had winged her “I’ve been shot,” she announced “it’s minor”

“ _What happened?_ ” Astra asked

“It was Draper, nor Warren,” Lucy explained “Astra,” she began “he took Kara”

There was a brief pause and Lucy could imagine the outraged expression Astra’s face

“ _Get back to base now_ ” she ordered

******

“Whoa, whoa! Where do you think you’re going?” Winn demanded as Alex tried to sit up

“I’m going to help find my sister,” she growled out “now get out of my way”

“You can’t even get up to go to the bathroom!” Winn exclaimed as she managed to swing her legs off the bed and staggered into a standing position “Alex! Stop!” he insisted, gripping her arms

“Let go of me, Winn” she warned

“All right,” Winn sighed

He let go.

And Alex promptly flopped back onto the bed, too weak to stand

“I told you,” Winn muttered as he awkwardly manhandled her back under the covers “we will find her,” he insisted “OK? She wasn’t even his target”

“Well maybe that doesn’t matter to him!” Alex exclaimed “you said it yourself, there’s only a twelve hour time gap from the time the victims were abducted to when their bodies were found, which means that she doesn’t have long”

“Hey, I know, OK?” Winn soothed as he grabbed a chair and pulled it over to the bedside “but you can’t do everything, Alex,” he reminded her “neither can she,” he added “besides, I almost feel bad for the guy, since Astra’s hunting for him now”

Alex chuckled

“I’d forgotten about that” she admitted

“Well, don’t,” Winn reminded her “because she cares for both of you”

******

“Anything?” Astra asked as she paced Command

“No,” Susan shook her head, she nodded to Draper’s NCPD file now displayed on the monitors “we have a face, but not a name,” she shrugged “Draper’s prisoner file could have corrupted when Fort Rozz crashed” she pointed out, Astra frowned

“Unless, he wasn’t a prisoner” she realized

“A guard,” Susan realized as Astra began pulling up the guard manifest from Fort Rozz “I thought all the guards were killed by the prisoners when Fort Rozz crashed”

“What if one got away?” Astra suggested as the images began flying by, stopping on the third image “Draper _was_ a guard!” Astra growled

“Originally from the planet Trombus,” Susan read “planet of advanced weapons manufacturers”

“Which explains the RoboCop suit,” Astra nodded as she read the rest of the file “his father was a guard, his grandfather. The job’s in his blood”

“And now he’s trying to recreate Fort Rozz here on Earth” Susan nodded grimly

“With his rules,” Astra hissed “Agent Schott, anything?”

“Uh, yeah, maybe,” Winn nodded “Draper’s been scrambling his GPS tracker whenever he went off duty, but I managed to unscramble it and it looks like he’s been spending a lot of his free time in a cabin about eighty miles north of the city”

“Perfect place to kill people and nor worry about witnesses,” Astra noted, she glanced at Susan “is agent Lane cleared for active duty yet?”

“No,” Susan shook her head “the doctors say her arm will be in a sling for about a week”

“Prep a strike team,” Astra ordered “tell them I’ll be in charge”

“Yes, ma’am”

******

“ _Trap One to Greyhound Leader, give me a sit rep_ ” Lucy requested

“We’re in position,” Astra reported as the strike team approached the isolated cabin, the team breaking up to cover all exits. She glanced at the rest of the team “on my signal…one…two…three! Breach!”

The team burst into a large, empty room “spread out!” Astra ordered

“Clear!”

“Clear!”

“All clear in here!”

“Damn it!” Astra growled “Lucy, we’ve got a problem, the cabin’s empty. They’re not here”

“ _Well, maybe there’s a clue as to where Draper takes his victims_ ” Lucy suggested

“Maybe,” Astra agreed, sweeping her eyes around the room, frowning she looked down at the floor, x-raying through the floor “damn,” she whispered, she looked up at an agent “give me a crowbar” she ordered and began to use it to pry up the floorboards “it’s his ship,” she announced as she stared down in the cavern blow “it’s _under_ the cabin,” she looked up at the strike team “C-4 and crampons!” she ordered

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Lucy, we’re going in”

“ _Copy that. Good luck_ ”

“Thanks,” Astra muttered as she secured the line and quickly repelled down to the ship below “set the charges” she called out as the team got to work

“Charges set”

“Detonate!”

The charges blew, tearing a wide gap in the roof the ship. Repelling down and firing as she went, Astra took stock of the situation, the other recent abductee, Professor Luzano, was strapped down to a guillotine-like device, and Kara was trapped in a small cell

“Get the professor clear!” she ordered as she unhooked her line and hurried to Kara’s cell, freezing at the familiar red glow “red sunlight?” she hissed

“Behind you!” Kara yelled, turning Astra saw Draper, now in full armor, charging for her. Growling, she swung back a leg, kicking him in the midsection, turning on her heel she swing the butt of her rifle into his head, knocking him back. With a muffled and distorted yell, Draper charged, pinning Astra to the floor

“ _ **You don’t fight like a human**_ ” he hissed

“Because I’m not!” she growled, kicking him off her. Draper spun, throwing out his arms, gauntlets glowing. Astra charged, easily blocking his blows

“ _ **I know you,**_ ” Draper hissed as he struggled to hold her back “ _ **Astra,**_ ” he swung back a leg, kneeing her in the gut “ _ **is that all you got?**_ ” he taunted as he began to pummel her. Growling, Astra swung back a fist…

Taking his helmet clean off and sending him flying back into his own machine

“It’s over” Astra growled, placing her hand on the controls

“You won’t kill me,” Draper hissed, making no move to try and escape his predicament “we’re alike”

“Wrong,” Astra answered, with that she coldly activated the device, decapitating Draper. Sighing, she turned towards the other controls, swiftly opening Kara’s cell “are you all right?” she asked

“You…you killed him,” Kara stared at Draper’s headless body with a mix of disbelief and disgust “you _murdered_ him” she accused …


	73. Absolute Justice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We must all live with the consequences of our past actions. End of AU of "Truth, Justice, and the American Way"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quadruple update! :=)

******

“Hey,” Alex sat up as best she could and pulled Kara into a hug “are you OK? I was worried”

“I’m OK,” Kara mumbled as she pulled away “but, Astra, she…”

“I know,” Alex said softly “she told me what happened, what she did,” she explained “I can’t say that I blame her”

“Killing is never the answer” Kara swore

“Maybe not,” Alex agreed quietly “but, sometimes in war, soldiers have do things that they don’t want to do. That’s the difference between soliders and heroes: soldiers kill, heroes don’t” she explained

******

“ _Hello, Kara,_ ” Alura’s hologram greeted “ _how may I assist you?_ ”

“I met someone today,” Kara said “a prisoner from Fort Rozz, he was different, he wasn’t like the others, he didn’t hate me or you,” she idly tapped her foot on the floor “and I guess that made me think of you,” she finished

The hologram didn’t respond, merely stood there, waiting

“Oh,” Kara remembered “uh, I met Ursa a few days ago; she mentioned something called ‘Myriad’, do you know what it is?”

“ _Warning, this construct is not authorized to discuss Myriad_ ”

“Why?” Kara asked, confused “what is it?”

“ _Warning,_ ” an alarm began to blare “ _continued discussion of Myriad will result in this AI’s self-destrction_ ”

Standing by the door, Lucy quietly shut off the interface

“What could make a hologram scared?” she wondered as Kara silently stared at the empty air where the hologram had been

“I used to look at this thing and it reminded me of her,” she began “but now all I can think about Astra and what she did,” she hissed “I can’t do this anymore, Lucy”

“OK,” Lucy nodded “that’s fine, why don’t you take a few days off?” she suggested

“No, you don’t get it,” Kara shook her head “I can’t work with her, with you, not even Alex. I just…I can’t” with that she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room...

******

“Kara will come around,” Alex dismissed as she shuffled the cards, placing them down on the tray in front of her “she always does” she added as she handed Astra her hand

“Not this time,” Astra shook her head as she accepted the hand “not after what I did”

“You can’t keep beating yourself up about that,” Alex sighed “he was going to kill Kara and you; you know that, it was a good kill”

“It was murder,” Astra stated “hearing him say we were alike just…infuriated me, and yet…he was right…because I told myself as I pulled that lever that it was ‘justice’, justice for his victims, justice for me, justice for my sister’s memory. But it wasn’t, it was revenage, pure and simple, and, now…now I have to live with that…”


	74. Solitudes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one can truly go at it alone. AU of "Solitude"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time! Enjoy :=)

******

Kara sat up as her alarm rang, frowning as she shook off the dream about the Phantom Zone. Funny, she hadn’t dreamed about that for years. Shrugging it off, she got up and began to get ready for her day, stopping half way to the bathroom when she smelled…bacon? Yes, definitely bacon. Now starting to drool, she made her way out into the kitchen, finding James and Lucy fiddling at her dining table

“Uh, what’s going on?” she asked

“Breakfast,” James beamed “come and sit down”

“O…K,” Kara frowned as she slowly approached the table “not that I’m complaining, but what is Lucy doing here?”

“I’m here to see if you’re ready to come back to work yet,” Lucy explained as James handed her a plate “and to take advantage of a free meal” she added

“Lucy,” Kara sighed “I can’t,” she insisted “not anymore”

“Kara, it’s been over a week,” James pointed out “Lucy tells me that you haven’t even come in to at least see Alex”

“How is she?” Kara asked

“Maybe if you came in you’d know,” Lucy fired back “for example, did you know that she got an infection a few days ago? She’s fine now, but she had a pretty high fever for a while there”

“Why didn’t you call me?” Kara demanded

“Because every time I do you send it to voicemail,” Lucy complained “I’m pretty sure that James here is getting tired of being your answering service”

“Very tired,” James added “look, Kara, no one’s asking you to do anything you don’t to do, if you don’t want to work with the DEO again for the rest of your life, that’s fine. But, at least go in and see Alex, I’m pretty sure she misses you”

Kara sighed and glanced down at her plate

“Shoot, I’m late for work” she mumbled, swiftly getting up and heading back into the bedroom

James and Lucy both sighed…

******

“Morning, Director” Susan greeted as Astra walked into Command

“Agent Vasquez,” Astra nodded back, frowning “where’s agent Schott?”

“Combat raining with agent Lane, ma’am” Susan answered

“Oh, dear”

“My thoughts exactly”

******

“Hey! Hey!” Winn yelped as his legs were swept out from under him again, sending him to the mat in a sprawl

“Come on,” Lucy coiled up to her feet “again”

“Oh, geez, lady, you’re killing me here,” Winn moaned as he painfully climbed to his feet “just so you know, I was a theater geek in high school, not a wrestler”

“Doesn’t matter,” Lucy shook her head “standard training for everybody at the DEO,” she shifted into a fighting stance “now, come on”

Winn took a breath and swung out with his fist, which Lucy swiftly dodged

“This is stupid, I can’t even hit you” he exclaimed

“Maybe you’re right,” Lucy admitted, she frowned “you said you were a theater geek?”

“Yeah”

“So, I’m assuming you did some dancing?”

“Uh, yeah,” he blushed “I mean, I did some musicals, you know, not much”

“Show me”

“What?”

“Show me,” she repeated “dance and martial arts have a lot in common, they often use the same muscle groups,” she explained “so, show me”

“O…K,” frowning Winn lifted one leg and spun slightly, wobbling as he did “I’m a little rusty” he admitted

“That’s fine,” Lucy smiled “try again”

“OK,” he repeated the move, managing to stay upright this time “now what?”

“Pretend you’re dancing, OK? Ready and…go,” Lucy swung out a fist and Winn swiftly sidestepped, avoiding the blow, Lucy repeated the move and so did Winn, avoiding the blow again “see?” she grinned “sometimes the best way to win in a fight is to use your opponent's strength against them. Don’t focus of trying to hit them, focus on trying to _avoid_ getting hit yourself”

“Yeah,” he grinned back “I do,” he suddenly stuck out a leg, tripping her. Pin-wheeling her arms and legs, Lucy managed to grab hold of his shirt at the last second and pull him down with her. Both of them landing on the mat in a tangle of limbs “you OK?” Winn asked as he slowly sat up “sorry, guess I got a little overconfident there” he apologized

“Yeah, you did,” Lucy nodded “but not too bad. Wanna get off me now?”

“Oh. Right. Sorry”

“Am I interrupting something?”

They both jumped and quickly untangled themselves, turning to see Susan standing in the door

“Sorry! This is _not_ what it looks like!”

“We were just—”

“I tripped!”

The Martian calmly waited until the two sets of rambling quieted down

“Well, if you’re done, Agent Schott, the Director wants you to go over our files on the Fort Rozz prisoners and see about reorganizing them into a more manageable system” Susan explained

“Yeah, sure,” Winn nodded “I can, I can do that”

“Good” Susan nodded and turned to leave, pausing in the hall, glancing back over her shoulder at Lucy and Winn who both hurried down the corridor in opposite directions. J’onn smirked, it looked Alex and Astra weren’t the only two agents to have eyes for each other…

******

“Gin”

Alex scowled at the cards

“Damn it, how are you _so good_ at this game?” she wondered

“Practice, Alex,” Astra chuckled “lots of practice,” she explained as she gathered up the cards “again?” she offered

“Ugh, no,” Alex groaned “it’s no fun playing with you if you always win”

“Well then, we could play poker”

“I hate poker”

“You hate everything”

“No I don’t. I just… _dislike_ a lot of things”

Astra snorted in response

“Has Kara been to see you yet?” she asked as she shuffled the cards

“No,” Alex sighed, letting her head flop back onto the pillow “this is going on, what? Close to two weeks now?”

“Something like that,” Astra answered as she began to set up the cards for a game of solitaire “maybe you should try calling her” she suggested

“I can always try” Alex sighed…


	75. Hacker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara still fumes over Astra and Alex, and Indigo appears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVENTY-FIVE!!!! Enjoy! :=)

******

Kara sighed as she marched into Cat Grant’s office for the daily content meeting, steadily ignoring James’ comforting presence. She liked stewing in her own anger and self-pity, even though she knew, deep down, how petty it really was. Rolling her shoulders she silently listened to Ms. Grant complain about her morning (she liked Cat Grant a lot, saw her as a mentor, but still, there were days that made her roll her eyes at the older woman’s vanity)

“Uh, this came for you by private courier, Ms. Grant,” Sibohan suddenly held out a small manila envelope “I’ve been keeping it safe from prying eyes”

“Why didn’t you open it?” Cat asked “it could be anthrax”

Siobhan stammered and stuttered as James smoothly took it from her and opened it

“It’s not anthranx,” he smiled “thumb drive,” he explained holding a flash drive “and,” he dug through the envelope “a letter” he held out a piece of paper towards Cat

“’Make the liars pay for their lies, make the cheaters feel the pain of their betrayal’.” Cat read with a roll of her eyes

“That’s the website for adulters, DiamondDiscretions.com,” James explained “it’s like Ashley Madison except it’s supposed to be unhackable. Until someone hacked its server last night, stole all of their clients personal information, none of which has been released yet”

“Because the hacker wanted it to be reportrd by a major media outlet, hence why they sent it to me,” Cat sighed “you, brown-hair,” she took the thumb drive from James and tossed it at Siobhan “put this in the microwave and set it on ‘propcorn’,” she instructed “no, actually set it on ‘baked potato’. Either way, just melt it”

“Uh, Ms. Grant?” Kara held up a hand “shouldn’t we, maybe publish this?” she suggested tentatively “I mean, these people are liars and cheaters. They’re lying to their friends, their families; shouldn’t people have a right to know?”

“Oh, Ker-ah,” Cat sighed dramatically “we live in a brave new world of gay marriage and transgender Republicans, nobody bats an eye at this kind of stuff anymore,” she explained “and, having been on the other side once, if we do this we’ll be giving these disgusting bottom feeders ligitamcy. And, then, Ker-iah, the terrorists will have won,” Cat glanced at the room at large “out” she ordered

As the group filed out of the room, James glanced at Kara and raised an eyebrow in silent question…

******

Astra grunted as she delivered a hard blow to Susan’s face. Stumbling back, Susan recovered and shifted into a fighting stance, ducking as Astra delivered a flurry of kicks and punches, throwing Susan off the mat. Growling, Astra leapt at the Martian, gasping surprise as J’onn suddenly phased through her, gripping her arm and then shoving her to the ground, pinning her there as he shed Susan Vasquez’s form

“All right! All right!” Astra stopped struggling as J’onn resumed Susan’s form

“Now, care to tell me what’s really on your mind?” the Martian asked as she stepped back, allowing Astra to climb to her feet

“I miss having Kara here,” she confessed “and Alex”

“Her choice, Astra,” Susan reminded her “and as for Alex, the doctors say that in a few months she should be back on her feet again”

“But what if we fall before then because Supergirl isn’t here to help us?” Astra wondered. Susan paused by the doors

“This organization functioned long before your niece, long before you even,” she reminded the Kryptonian “not to belittle her efforts, but it’ll go on without her too”

******

At CatCo, the rest of the day passed without incident. It was a quarter before Kara went home for the night when James appeared by her desk, bearing take-out

“Potstickers” he announced

“Is that from Chow Hong’s?” Kara asked

“It is” he confirmed

“Ooh! That’s my favorite!” grinning, she greedily snatched the bag from him and tore it open

“Kara…” James began as he pulled a chair over and sat “why did you insist that Cat publish that cheater’s list earlier today?” he asked

“I just think that people shouldn’t keep secrets from each other” she dismissed

James slowly nodded

“People? Or your family specifically?” he challenged, she looked up at him sharply “look, I know that you’re still upset about what happened to Alex, I would be too, but you can’t keep blaming Astra for what happened, OK? Alex knew the risks and as for why Astra didn’t track you down, well put yourself in her shoes; she’s just gotten out of prison, she didn’t even know that you were still alive, and after she found out, she had no idea what you were told about her. As far as she was concerned you could have been told that she was a criminal worse than Hitler” he explained

Kara sighed in respose and stuffed a potsticker in her mouth to avoid answering him just as the lights began flickering. The TVs mounted on the walls all filling with static before changing to display a woman’s face

“ _Greetings CatCo employees,_ ” she began “ _I’m disappointed in you all. Espically you, Queen of All Media_ ”

“I suppose you’re the hacker who sent the drive this morning,” Cat Grant commented with a tired sigh “what do they call you? the peroxide avenger?” she sneered

“ _I gave you the srory of the century_ ” the hacker boasted…

******

“Report!” Astra barked

“OK, we’ve got a major hack at CatCo” Winn explained as he frantically typed

“Why is that my concern, Mr. Schott?” Astra wondered

“Because there’s something in this code that I’ve never seen before” Winn explained

Astra nodded

“Let’s see it”

Winn tapped a key and the same image that was being displayed at CatCo now filled the DEO’s monitors

“ _….sinners have turned the internet into a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah,_ ” the hacker continued “ _but, you failed to act, so now…all will suffer_ ” she smirked

“I know that voice…” Astra hissed, her eyes widened “no…it _can’t_ be” she hissed as the hacker continued

“ _Computers control everything, communication, banking…even traffic lights,_ ” she grinned “ _the age of chaos begins now. Enjoy_ ” the screens flicked back to normal

“Mr. Schott?” Astra asked

“Uh, every traffic light in the city just turned green” he announced shakily

“Get me into traffic cameras, now!” Astra barked

“Hold on” Winn began typing again

“Some time today would be nice, Mr. Schott!”

“Got it, I got it!” Winn nodded as images from NCPD traffic cameras appeared on the screen

“Oh my god…” Lucy whispered as the screens filled with dozens of traffic accidents…

******

“ _…in related news, the recent DiamondDiscretions.com hack appears to be the opening slavo of a full-blown cyber war. Last night’s cyber-attack has crippled National City’s inferstructure, including major banking insitutions. Fortunately, major fatalities were avoided during last night’s hack of the city’s traffic lights due to the timely intervention of Supergirl…_ ” 

“Don’t you know watching that will rot your brain?” Alex looked up as Astra walked into the room

“Might as well finish the job,” Alex sighed as she turned off the TV and flopped back onto her pillow “I’m already bored stiff being cooped up in here looking at these same four walls. The highlight of my day is when Nurse Gilbert comes in to give me a sponge bath," she groaned "I can’t even get up and pee like a normal person, I get to use a catheter” she complained

“Charming” Astra drawled as she came over and sat down

“Can’t you give me something to do?” Alex pleaded, and if she sounded whiny Astra thankfully didn’t comment on it “please? I’ll balance the budget, something!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want my worse enemy to balance the DEO’s budget,” Astra chuckled “and as for your request, the doctors ordered that you are not do anything strenuous, including anything _mentally_ strenuous”

“Oh come on!” Alex groaned “I’m going nuts in here! I need to be out there _doing_ something!"

“Have you tried calling your sister yet?” Astra asked suddenly

“I did” Alex sighed

“And?”

“And we talked for all five minutes about absolutely nothing at all”

“Wonderful,” Astra sighed, both women looked up as Lucy and Winn knocked on the doorway “Agent Lane, agent Schott,” Astra acknowledged “you have news I hope?”

“Not much, I’m afraid,” Lucy sighed “my contacts at the Pentagon don’t have anything about this hacker and no hacker groups have claimed responsibility” she explained

“What about the code Mr. Schott found in the Wi-Fi last night?” Astra wondered

“It disappeared before I could get a good look at it,” Winn explained “it could be alien, or it could just be some new string of code I’ve never seen,” he shrugged “oh, uh, Kara called, she wants to see me tonight after work,” he added “that OK?” he asked

“It’s fine, Mr. Schott,” Astra sighed “just remember to sign out before you leave tonight”

“Got it, thanks” grining, Winn dashed off

“Am I the only one who thinks that Kara’s just asked him to help her track down this hacker?” Lucy wondered

“No” Alex and Astra both chorused

“And we’re not going to do anything to stop it?” Lucy asked

“The way I see it, Agent Lane,” Astra began “what Mr. Schott and Ms. Danvers get up after hours is none of my concern. That being said, I’ll have Agent Vasquez keep an eye out for that string of code tonight”

“Understood,” Lucy nodded “I’ll go and tell her

As soon as Lucy left, Alex turned to Astra

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” she asked

“No,” Astra said, standing up “nothing at all”

“Liar” Alex called out as the other woman left. Scowling, she turned on the TV again and tried to find something to watch…

******

Nightfall found Winn and James gathered at Kara’s apartment, with Winn busy typing away at a laptop, James and Kara snuggled together on the couch, waiting for some kind of result

“You know, he’s been muttering to himself like that for an hour,” James pointed out, nodding to where Winn sat, muttering and mumbling as he typed away “isn’t that the first sign of--”

“Genius? Yes” Kara interrupted, beaming

“I’m not muttering, I’m writing code,” Winn exclaimed “it just helps to say it out loud"

“OK, Winn, what is it?” Kara demanded, getting up and pacing “what's the problem?”

“OK,” Winn sighed “this hacker’s created what’s call an ‘oscillating variable matrix’ to cover her footprints,’diabolical’ would not be an inappropriate word choice for her”

“But…?” Kara encouraged

“But, I’ve created an inversion pathway that’ll, hopefully, allow us to track her down,” Winn explained “I mean, for all we know, she could be orchestrating these attacks from the other side of the world

“ _No,_ ” the three of them blinked and looked down to see the hacker appear on the screen “ _just from the otheride of your screen,_ ” she taunted “ _you know,_ ” she began, smirking at Winn “ _you’re fairly clever. For an ape_ ”

“And you are freaking me out for an evil blonde computer face” Winn stammered out

“ _Then let’s talk in person_ "

“Name the time and the place” Kara demanded

“ _How about…now?_ ”

“Whoat! Whoa!” Winn yelped and scurried back as the screen suddenly filled with a swarm of swirling blue pixels which quickly flowed _out_ of the screen to form into a blue-skinned female humanoid with a shock of red hair

“Super…girl,” she hissed out, looking Kara up and down “what makes you so super?"

“That symbol,” Kara stated as she stared at the glowing symbol on the alien’s forehead, three glow red dots in an inverted triangle “I’ve seen it before” she realized

“The sign of my people,” the alien proclaimed “the font of omniscience knowledge,” she hissed “I know everything about you” she hissed

“What are you,” Winn stammered out “some kind of living internet?”

The alien glanced at him disdainfully

“You might call me that,” she dismissed. She held up a hand, claw-like fingers outstretched, before suddenly slamming her other hand in Kara’s chest, sending her flying through a window. Turning, the alien quickly grabbed Winn by the throat, hoisting him off the ground, even as James swung a chair into her back with no effect. Snarling in clear annoyance, the alien turned and swiftly grabbed him by the throat as well, holding him up as Kara flew back in through the shattered window, ripping open her shirt to reval the Crest of El “now,” the alien hissed “which one of your friends should I skin first?” she taunted just as the door burst open, Astra and Lucy storming in, guns drawn

“Stay where you are!” Astra bellowed. The alien turned, grinning as she let go of James and Winn

“Hello, Astra,” she purred “you didn’t even see me coming, did you?” she taunted

"You" Astra hissed

“I calculated only a twenty-six point five percent chance that you’d even survive the assassination. Once again defying the odds,” she hissed, slowly approaching “just like the time that Krypton perished and you survived,” she grinned “but, the humans here might just call that ‘lucky’.”

With a growl, Astra suddenly lunged, pinning the alien to the floor

“It has _**nothing**_ to do with luck!!” she drew back a fist, but the alien swiftly dissolved into another swarm of blue pixels, disappearing back into the laptop…

******

“What are you following me now?” Kara demanded as she stormed out into the hall

“I would never do that,” Astra explained “we found something buried in the Wi-Fi signal last night, something alien, it led us here,” she explained “the rest is classified, available only to active DEO agents. What do you say?”

For a moment Kara was silent

“I say,” she finally began “I’ve gotten this far on my own, no reason to stop now,” she bushed past Astra and Lucy “elevator’s around the corner” she added dismissively

“Just so you know, you’ll be doing this without Mr. Schott’s help,” Astra called out “this is now under the DEO’s jurisdiction”

“Whatever” Kara dismissed

“Well, that could’ve gone better” Astra sighed

“Yeah,” Lucy agreed, frowning “I take it that you and that alien know each other”

“We do”

“Who is she?”

“Someone I hoped I’d never see again” Astra answered...


	76. Solitary Hardships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even when we think we're alone, we're not...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVENTY-SIX!! Enjoy! :=)

******

“So, who is she?” Alex asked “this…Indigo’? Is she affiliated with Non?”

“Not to my knowledge, no,” Astra shock her head “as far as I’m aware, she’s a rouge element”

“Well, what else do you know about her?” Alex wondered

“Aside from the fact that she was imprisoned in Fort Rozz? Nothing, not even _why_ she was imprisoned”

“She probably erased her own file when Fort Rozz crashed,” Alex sighed “hell, she’s probably why most of the prisoner files are corrupted in the first place”

“Most likely,” Astra sighed “I’ve had Mr. Schott scouring the internet for her code for the better part of an hour, but so far no luck in tracking her down” she explained

Alex reached out and tightly squeezed Astra’s hand

“You’ll find her” she promised…

******

The next morning found Kara angrily pounding on a jammed photocopier at CatCo

“What are you doing?” James asked as he came around the corner

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Kara demanded, swinging back a leg and giving the malfunctioning machine a hard, human-level kick “can one thing just ever go right in my life? Just once?” she demanded, going back to pounding on the machine

James wisely declined to answer as he gently nudged her away from it and then bent down and opened the machine, easily sliding the crumpled piece of paper out

“There, see?” he said, holding it up “no need for violence”

“Thanks” Kara sighed

“So...,” James began “is beating up copiers a new pastime I haven’t heard about?”

“It’s just…,” Kara huffed and raked a hand through her hair “Winn’s been drafted into the DEO, Alex is still on bed rest, and now there this new alien threat, I mean if its alien how do we stop it if we don’t know what it is?”

“You could ask Astra,” James suggested “I mean it seemed like she and that alien knew each other last night” he pointed out

“James…” Kara sighed

“All right,” he sighed, relenting for the moment “well,” he began “if its aliens we’re dealing with I know place where we can go that has a lot of information about aliens…”

******

James grunted as Kara landed a bit too hard on the ice ledge

“You OK?” she asked

James nodded

“Yeah,” he answered shakily “you know, you’re a lot faster than your cousin”

“Really?” Kara giggled, looking absurdly pleased at that praise

“Yeah,” he nodded “but you take your turns too hard though” he added

“Hey, nobody likes a backseat flier,” she warned playfully. She turned towards the wall of ice next to them, nodding towards the mirror image of the Crest of El set into the ice “so, is this it?” she asked

“That’s it” James confirmed as he crouched and began to dig through the snow

“So how do we get in?” Kara asked, rubbing her hands together like a little kid “is there like a…secreat password or something?” she grinned, James chuckled at her antics “what?” she asked “what’s so funny?”

“You,” he answered “you look really cute right now”

“I am _not_ cute, OK?” she pouted “badass superheroes are not cute”

“You are,” James smirked “and to answer your question, _this_ is how we get in” he explained as he unearthed a large gold shape buried in the snow

“That’s it?” Kara laughed “he just…keeps the key under the doormat?”

“Well, from what he tells me this is made of compressed dwarf star alloy. Only a few people in the world can lift this,” Kara grinned at him as she picked up the large key and fitted it to the outline in the ice. There was a hum a part of the wall slid to the side “welcome to the Fortress of Solitude” James announced as they walked into a large cavern dominated by two massive statutes of a man and a woman holding up a globe.

Slowly making their way through the cavernous space, taking note of the various artifacts on display

“Oh, hey,” Kara pointed to a small pod off in a corner “there’s the pod that brought Kal-El…I mean ‘Clark’…to Earth”

“I’m surprised he never invited you up here” James commented

“Actually he did,” Kara admitted “but I always found a reason not to go”

“Why?”

“I was afraid it would remind me too much of Krypton,” she explained, James reached out and comfortingly squeezed her arm, she smiled softly at him as they stopped in what looked like the relative ‘center of the structure “so, how does anything of this stuff work anyway?” Kara asked as she cautiously poked at what looked like a control panel of some kind

“Actually, I was hoping that you could tell me” James admitted

“ _Greetings, Kara Zor-El,_ ” a small floating robot quietly approached them “ _how may I assist you?_ ” it asked

“Uh, you know him?” James asked uncertainly, Clark hadn’t mentioned anything about there being robots up here

“We had these back on Krypton,” Kara explained “they acted like robotic helpers,” she explained as she turned to the robot “Kelex, do you know anything about an…obnoxious blue alien species that works with computers?”

“ _Your description matches the ‘Coluans’, a highly advanced race from ‘Colu’,_ ” Kelex answered “ _they served as supercomputers on Krypton_ ”

“Explains the cyber-terrorism” James nodded

“Were any of them sentenced to Fort Rozz?” Kara asked

“ _One,_ ” Kelex answered “ _her name is ‘Indigo’, a descendent of the Brainiac Clan. She was captured after she attempted to shut down Krypton’s planetary defense grid_ ”

“Why would she do that?” James asked

“ _Her objective: terminating the planet’s population,_ ” Kelex answered “ _she was deemed to be the most dangerous prisoner ever sentenced to Fort Rozz, even more dangerous than disgraced Military Guild General, Astra In-Ze_ ”

Kara took a breath, scowling as she turned away from the robot, while James frowned at her

“Kelex,” he called out “why was General Astra imprisoned in Fort Rozz?” he asked

“ _Apologies, that information is unavailable_ ” Kelex answered before it floated away

“Do you want to run this by Astra?” James asked

“No, no” Kara shook her head

“Kara,” James sighed “I get that you’re still upset, I would be too, but you don’t have to do this alone”

“I’m not alone,” Kara said, looking up at him tenderly “I’m with you”


	77. Trojan Horse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beware of Greeks bearing gifts...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!!

******

“OK,” James sighed “so a living alien computer is trying to infiltrate the U.S. Military, and it’s the same intellignce behind the website hack and the attack on the city”

“Yep,” Kara nodded “so, what do we do?” she sighed “how do we stop her?” she groaned and slumped back in her seat “I miss Winn and Alex,” she moaned “I…save the world better when I save it with people” she complained

“Well…,” James began “you…could have them back if you wanted too” he hinted, Kara sighed in response but this time didn’t say anything

******

“You know Indigo’s code, you cracked it,” Astra continued “if you can decrypt her signal you can lead us right to her”

“You _do_ realize that I’m learning an alien coding language in the same amount of time it takes to watch an epsidoe of _’Doctor Who’_ , right?” Winn asked, he visibly defalated as Astra scowled  
“that’s like, that’s like really fast” he muttered

“I wish Kara was here” Astra grumbled

“We both do” Lucy acknolwdeged as the computer suddenly chirped

“Fort Pemberton!” Winn grinned “that’s, that’s where she’s going”

“How do you know?” Lucy asked

“Well,” he began “the Kryptonian language is like…intergalactic Russian, OK? So, when I compared the symbols to their Slavic equi—”

“I don’t care” Astra interrupted 

“Right, right, yeah,” Winn muttered “I, uh, I cracked the code,” he grinned, Astra just gave him a ‘look’ and poor Winn deflated even further “and, uh there are coordinates that, uh match, to Fort Pemberton,” he explained, he frowned “but why would she go there?” he wondered

“Fort Pemberton is the nearest nuclear missile silo to National City,” Astra answered, she shook her head, at a loss “but its off-grid, no internet access, no cell phone service, that way no one can remotely hack in and launch a missile”

“So, how’s she going to get in?” Winn wondered

“Wait,” Lucy began “maybe we’re looking at this wrong, why would an alien like Indigo start with a trashy, sleezy website like Dimond Disrections? What if that wasn’t what it was about at all?” she nudged gently Winn “what happened to the list of clients for Diamond Discretions?”

“Uh, most of it was just dumped onto the net after Indigo hacked the traffic lights” he explained, pulling up a series of files on the monitors

“Agent Lane?” Astra questioned as Lucy scanned the screen

“There!” she pointed “General Jonathan Mathers! I _knew_ Fort Pemberton sounded familiar!”

“Who’s General Mathers?” Winn asked

“He’s the head of Fort Pemberton,” Lucy explained “Indigo’s attack wasn’t about exposing cheating spouses; it was about declassifying Mathers’ digital footprint, se must be planning on using Mathers to get inside, like a Trojan horse”

“Contact the Pentagon,” Astra ordered “we’re at DEFCON Four”

“I’ll assmble a strike team at Fort Pemberton” Lucy nodded

“You’ll never make it in time,” Winn objected as the computer chirped again “uh, guys?” he began “we just picked up an ICBM launch from Fort Pemberton” he announced shakily

“Target?” Astra asked

“National City” Winn answered…


	78. El Mayra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are all stronger if we work together...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update!!!

******

“Missile’s arcing towards the city,” Astra reported as Command burst into a dizzying hive of activity “ETA to target, three minutes”

“That was the White House,” Lucy announced as she hung up the phone “the President’s just ordered us to DEFCON Two”

“We’ve got a boogey on an intercept course from the city center” Susan reported, nodding to the screenwhere radar tracking showed an object rapidly closing in on the missile, intercepting with it and trying to knock it off course. The missile wobbled, but then locked itself back on target

“What the hell is that?” Lucy wondered. Beside her, Astra smirked

“That’s my niece” she answered

“I’ve got Supergirl on the line” Susan announced

“ _Astra, I need your help,_ ” Kara’s desperate sounding voice came over the comm. “ _there’s a missile bearing down on the city_ ”

“We know, Indigo’s the one who just launched it,” Astra replied “we’re tracking you with the ICBM;” she explained as she gestured to another agent “we’re going to stop this one, Kara. Together” she added as the agent returned carrying a briefcase and frantically handing it to Astra

“Is that…the nuclear football?” Lucy asked hesitantly

“A copy, yes,” Astra nodded as she opened the case and began to pull out bright red file folders marked ‘TOP SECRET’ and ‘FOR EYES ONLY’ “all right, now, Kara, listen closely,” she began as she opened one folder and began to rapidly flip through it “the missile is impact-sensitive; if you try to tear out or otherwise physically remove the warhead it _will_ detonate, it's a hardwired failsafe. What you need to do access the missile’s onboard filght computer and shut it down,” she explained “that’s at the top of the missile near the nosecone”

“Eight thousand feet” Susan reported, as Lucy turned to Winn

“You need to shutdown the silo’s network,” she encouraged “keep Indigo from launching another missile”

“Actually,” he began “I think I might have a way of actually shutting _her_ down,” he explained, he smirked “I kinda wrote a pretty nasty virus a few years ago” he explained

“How nasty?” she asked

“Twenty-eight thousand feet and droping” Susan reported

“You need to open the trapdoor and access the onboard flight computer” Astra continued as she moved from one folder to the next

“ _I found it!_ ” Kara announced

“All right, do you see a keypad?” Astra asked

“ _Yes_ ” Kara answered

“Enter the following killcode; one-seven-four-seven” Astra instructed

“Fifteen thousand feet,” Ssuan announced “fourteen thousand feet, still dropping”

“Surpergirl,” Astra implored “you’re out of time!”

“Thirteen thousand feet” Susan announced

“ _I got it! I got it!!_ ” Kara suddenly cried. All eyes turned to the radar screen, watching as the missile began to rapidally lose altitude, disappearing over the water

“Yes!” Astra hissed as the room burst into cheers

“Oh thank god!” Winn sighed

“ _Where’s Indigo?_ ” Kara demanded over the cheers

“Fort Pemberton,” Astra answered “we’re working on a plan, but we need to stop her from launching another missile in the meantime”

“ _I’m on it_ ” Kara declared as her rader blip shot forward towards Fort Pemberton

“How’s it coming?” Lucy asked as Winn typed away

“Give me thirty more seconds” Winn replied

“Supergirl, hold on,” Lucy called out over the comm. “Supergirl?” she called out

“ _Who is that you’re talking to?_ ” Indigo’s voice suddenly purred out, clearly taunting Kara “ _I knew you were too stupid to be working alone_ ”

Winn’s screen suddenly filled with blue, a familiar swarm of blue pixels swarming out of the screen to form into a hand that swiftly wrapped around his throat

“Get some cutting tools in here now!” Astra barked out as Winn kept typing

“ _Look at you, powerless,_ ” Indigo’s voice hissed, seemingly unconcerned with her audience, if anything she may have been enjoying it “ _all I have to do is_ squeeze _my fingers and your friend dies,_ ” she hissed “ _I am beyond a body, I am beyond time and space. I am a god!_ ”

“No, you’re just a more annoying Window’s Vista!” Winn spat out and he stabbed his finger down on the ‘ENTER’ key. Almost instaly the arm around his throat shattered into a swarm of red, followed by an agonized scream from Indgio

“ _What have you done to me?!_ ” Indigo demanded

“I just fed you a major serving of malware,” winn panted out “ _bon appetite_ ”

“ _You would even be here if it wasn’t for me!_ ” Indigo spat out

“ _What do you mean?_ ” Kara demanded

“ _How do you think Fort Rozz escaped the Phantom Zone?_ ” Indigo hissed “ _for decades, I searched the Zone with my mind, trying to find a way out,_ ” she began “ _I found your pod, I activated it, and linked it to the prison. If it weren’t for me, you’d both still be trapped in that timeless void!_ ” she hissed before she suddenly screamed and then silence reigned over the comm.

“Supergirl, are you all right?” Astra asked quietly

“ _Yeah,_ ” Kara panted out “ _I’m, I’m OK_ ” she continued shakily…


	79. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of Indigo's defeat, Kara finally patches things up with Astra and Alex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVENTY-NINE!! A very short chapter, but still, UPDATE!! Enjoy :=)

******

“ _…in lighter news, a spectacular bright light seen over National Ciry this afternoon had conspiracy therorists abuzz, but, according to NASA, it was merely a Soyuz capsule delivering a payload to the ISS…_ ”

Alex turned off the TV

“How close did we come today?” she asked quietly

“Close,” Astra answered “too close” she added

“Ahem,” they both looked up as Kara hovered in the door uncertainly “can I come in?” she asked

“Of course you can” Alex nodded. Kara awkwardly stepped inside the room, nervously fiddling with the hem of her skirt

“So, uh, the world almost ended today because we weren’t a team,” she sighed “so, personal feelings aside, I'm back” she added

"Good" Astra noted

“Kara,” Alex began gently “who are you really mad at? Astra for recurting me? Or yourself because you can’t protect me?”

Kara’s shoulders began to shake

“I can’t lose you, Alex,” she whispered tearfully “I can’t”

“You won’t,” Astra said firmly “not while I’m still breathing. You won’t lose either of us,” she sighed as she stood up and approached Kara “oh, little one” she sighed, swiftly pulling the girl into a hug as Kara finally broke down, sobbing for all that she’d lost and all that she was afraid she would lose, taking comfort in her aunt’s embrace, in the firm grip of Alex’s hand on her arm.

In the arms of her family…


	80. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even heroes fall. AU of "Fallen"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter EIGHTY!!! Enjoy :=)

******

“ _In a uplifting moment today, Supergirl appeared at a locat school to defend a little girl from a group of bullies. As this video shows, the Girl of Steel appeared to defend this girl dressed as Supergirl a group of bullies, the Maid of Might declaring that she was ‘friends with all the nice kids’_ ”

“Enraptured are we?” Kara blinked and looked away from the screens to see Astra walking over

“Sorry,” Kara blushed “it’s just, moments like that make it all wothwile”

“They do indeed,” Astra smiled “on an unrelated tangent, where’s Mr. Schott?”

“Oh, Winn’s…,” Kara blinked and looked around “I don’t really know,” she admitted “but I can find him” she offered

“Please do,” Astra nodded “our Fort Rozz files aren’t going to reorganize themselves”

Kara cringed

“I’ll find him” she nodded

As she hurried off, Astra turned back to the screens, frowning

“She really needs to rethink that stupid skirt” she muttered…

******

“Winn?” Kara called out as she headed down Corridor A at the DEO “Winn?” she called out again “uh, Astra’s looking for you, and I don’t think I have to tell you that she’s scarier than Ms. Grant,” she added.

A thump caught her attention, turning she frowned at a door marked ‘STORAGE CLOSET’ “Winn, are you in--?” she asked, she froze as more thumps followed by what sounded frantic whispers “Winn?” Kara frowned and cautiously x-rayed through the door, recoiling at what she saw “no! No, no, no, no!” she twisted away with a groan “oh! Get it out of my head!” she groaned as the door opened, a blushing Lucy Lane stepping out

“I guess that’s my exit” she sighed as behind her Winn straightened his shirt and gave Kara a look

“Did you just use your…?” he nodded “oh god, you did, you did” he groaned

“I don’t think she’s the one we have to worry about” Lucy sighed

“Very good, Agent Lane,” Astra commented as she came over “now, then,” she began as she examined the tableau before her “I’m well within my rights to have you both ejected from the DEO right now”

“I thought you didn’t care what any of us did afterhours” Lucy pointed out

“I don’t,” Astra nodded “provided that is indeed _after_ hours, which,” she glanced at her watch “seeing as how its not even noon yet…” she trailed off as they both squirmed “now then, agent Lane, walk this puppy down to HR, and fill out _every_ form that Pam gives you. In triplicate. And without complaint”

“We have an HR department?” Winn asked

“After which,” Astra continued as if Winn hadn’t spoken “you, Mr. Schott, may be required to attend a mandatory sexual harassment seminar”

“Hey, that’s discriminatory,” Winn objected “why do I have attend the seminar and she doesn’t?” he asked

“Winn!” Lucy hissed

“That’s a valid point; Mr. Schott,” Astra commented “I’ll be sure to speak with our HR department about requiring all agents, male or female, to attned”

“Thanks a lot” Lucy hissed, punching Winn in the arm

“Now then,” Astar fixed both agents with a critcal eye "I trust that we won’t have anymore…liaisons like this at the DEO anymore?”

“No, ma’am” they both choursed

“Good,” the Kryptonian turned on her heel “carry on” she called out as she rounded the corner

“Kara…” Winn began

“No,” Kara shook her head and frantically waved her hands “you’re both consenting adults, what you do and who you do it with is none of my business”

“Look, we didn’t exactly plan this, you know,” Lucy added as she and Winn hurried after Kara down the hall “it just… _happened_ ”

“What just happened?” a new voice asked

“Alex!” Kara grinned as Alex came round the corner in a wheelchair

“Hey! Mama Bear’s back!” Winn grinned as he hurried over and pulled her into a hug 

“Easy, easy,” she warned “I’m still a little sore,” she grinned at him as he pulled back “Mama Bear, huh?” she asked “so, does that make you Baby Bear?”

“No, Kara’s Baby Bear” Lucy piped up

“You’re up” Kara whispered, grinning madly

“Well, sorta,” Alex smirked “the doctor’s don’t want me walking around just yet, but I’m finally out of that damn hospital bed,” she glanced between the three “so, what’s this I hear about Kara catching you two in a storage closet?”

“How did you…?” Kara began

“Papa Bear has eyes everywhere,” Alex grinned “plus, Astra just told me”

“Ugh,” Lucy groaned “oh, well, I suppose its not as bad as you and her—damn it!”

“So, wait,” Winn began “Alex and Astra are…?” his eyes widened “how does that even work?” he wondered “I mean Alex, Kara’s your sister and Astra’s her—”

“Winn, Winn,” Lucy put a steadying hand on his arm “don’t overthink it” she urged as they all walked into Command

“Senator Crane,” Kara acknowledged “it’s good to see you again”

“Ah, Agent Danvers, we were just talking about you,” Astra commented, she nodded towards the Senator “the Senator’s here to see about convincing the Budget Committee about allocating more funds to the DEO’s budget and in general more resources to fight Non” she explained

“A lot more” Senator nodded

“That’s great,” Alex sighed “we could use it”

“I’m also here because I wanted to personally thank Director Inzeli and her team for helping to keep our nation—our planet—safe,” the Senator explained “the DEO isn’t like the Amry, or indeed any brach of the Armed Services, you don’t have the same oversight. You all face the unknown every day and are often forced to make up the rules as you go along. It’s important that people we trust are in control to ensure that your mission is carried out in a way that’s consitent with our ideals” she explained. It was typical political jargon, but it was nice to hear nonetheless

“Director Inzeli,” Susan called out “there’s a fire downtown, a fireman’s trapped on the roof”

“Pull it up” Astra ordered as the group came over, a satellite image of the fire appearing on the monitors

“Supergirl, can you get there in time?” Senator Crane asked, turning to see empty air where Kara had just been standing

“Yeah,” Alex grinned “she can”

******

About ten minutes later, Kara flew back into Command, wobbling as she landed

“Hey, Kara, you OK?” Alex asked as she hurried over (as fast as she could hurry in this stupid chair)

“I don’t…know,” Kara mumbled as she wobbled “I feel…funny”

“You look like you’re drunk” Alex noted as she reached for her. As soon as she touched Kara’s arm, a ripple of red energy suddenly shot down Kara’s arm, shooting into Alex’s arm, sending both of them careening back in a spectacular blast of energy that blew out the lights and set off nearly every alarm in the base

“GET THE MEDICS!!!” Astra bellowed as she hurried over to both women, who now lay on the floor unconscious…


	81. Synthetic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A synthetic hero is not a true hero...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update!!

******

Alex sat up with a gasp

“Easy, easy!” Astra soothed “you’re in the infirmary” she explained

“Oh,” Alex groaned “what happened? Where’s Kara?”

“Kara is resting comfortably, and as for what happened, well…we’re not entirely sure, but it appears that, _somehow_ , her powers have been--for lack of a better word--transferred to you”

Alex sat up slightly

“What?” she asked, Astra nodded, holding out a tablet

“It appears that whatever that energy pulse was some kind of self-sustaining energy matrix that is somehow replicating her powers in your body and repressing them in hers,” she explained “in short, Alex, you’re Supergirl right now”

“Hey,” Winn knocked on the door “I think I figured out what happened” he held out a tablet to them

“The fire?” Alex asked, sitting up

“Did you run a thermodynamic scan?” Astra asked

“Yep, and look what I found” Winn tapped the tablet and a red haze filled the area where the fire had broken out

“Look the radiation signature,” Alex blinked “that’s kryptonite” she exclaimed

“Not exactly” Astra noted

“It’s synthetic, man-made,” Winn explained “like whoever made it couldn’t get the formula quite right”

“Who the hell would _make_ kryptonite?” Alex exclaimed

“Ah,” Winn held up a hand as he began typing on the tablet’s surface “the building is one of over a dozen satellite farms in the city. Three guesses as to who owns it”

“Maxwell Lord” Alex growled, tightening her grip on the gurney, yelping as part of the frame easily broke away in her hand

“That’s coming out of your pay,” Astra quipped as she frowned thoughtfully “the satellite farm is, or should I say, _was_ owned, by Maxwell Lord, and Non and his troops attacked one of Lord’s labs, so…he set a trap”

“I guess so,” Winn nodded “he could have planted the stuff there anytime after Non attacked”

“And then all he had to do was just wait for Non to come by and check it out,” Alex shook her head “idiot”

“Agreed,” Astra nodded “Agent Schott, I’m hoping that your brain isn’t sufficiently addled by your hormones to have forgotten not to bring this substance in for anlysys?”

“Uh, I already had some people go out and get,” Winn mumbled, blushing “they just brought it in” he explained

“Good, get started on an antidote,” Astra instructed “now, that being said, until we can reverse the effects, the question remains about what to do now that Supergirl is temporarily out of commission?”

Both she and Winn slowly looked at Alex 

“Oh great” Alex groaned…


	82. Absolute Power(less)...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Power has its drawbacks...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quadruple update!! Enjoy!

******

“Oh my god! I’m late!” Kara yelped as she tumbled out of bed to painfully land on the floor “OW!!”

“Kara?” James leaned over the edge of the bed “are you OK?” he asked

“No,” Kara wriggled and managed to get herself untangled from the bedsheets “I’m not OK, being powerless really, _really_ sucks!” she pouted “I’m sore, I slept through my alarm, and I have a headache!” she groaned and ran her fingers through her already-frazzled hair “ugh! I’m going to go take a shower,” she sighed “thank you for staying over last night, seriously”

“No problem” James smiled as he climbed out bed himself “why don’t I go make breakfast while you’re in the shower?” he offered

“Oh, my hero” Kara sighed as she grinned from inside the bathroom door. Smirking, James looked around for his pants, blushing as he remembered last night, for somoen who hated being powerless, Kara certainly seemed _eager_ to test out her limits last night. He was just doing up his belt when a loud yelp from the bathroom caught his attetntion

“Kara? Everything OK in there?” he asked, knocking on the door

“Its fine,” Kara called back “it’s just the water” she exclaimed

“What about it?”

“It’s _so cold!!_ ” there was a squeak of a faucet “ah, too hot! Too hot!”

******

Eventually Kara and James both walked into CatCo.

Fifteen minutes late

“Are you sure about that dress?” James asked

“What’s wrong with it?” Kara asked, looking down at her simple, form-fitting black dress

“It’s a just a bit…too mature, don’t you think?” James suggested

“I can’t keep wearing cardigans everyday” Kara shrugged as they stepped off the elevator

“I like the cardigans” James muttered…

******

Alex grunted as she vaulted over the barrier, swinging out an arm to smash through a concreate block, even as live ammination harmlessly bounced off her. Turning, Alex leapt up about twenty feet into the air, nearly touching the ceiling as she easily smashed through one of the gun turrets, tearing the military hardware apart with her bare hands like it was tinfoil

“Time!” Astra called out “terminate simulation”

“ _Terminating simulation, aye_ ” a voice replied over the intercom as Alex remained floating in the air

“Well now,” Astra began as she idly kicked a piece of shattered concreate aside “how are you feeling?”

“Great,” Alex answered as she awkwardly landed “I feel like I could take on the world” she grinned

“Careful,” Astra warrened “watch your hat size, just because you _can_ do that, doesn’t nessecarily mean that you _should_. That being said, I think you’re ready…”

******

Meanwhile, at CatCo, Kara found herself wiping up the remains of Cat’s latté from the inside of the microwave in the breakroom

“Kara, everything OK?” she looked as James walked in

“No,” she sighed “I just blew up Ms. Grant’s latté” she exclaimed

“How’d you do that?”

“Ugh, I was trying to heat it up for her, and then I remembered that I couldn't, you know, use my eyes, so I put in the microwave, and---”

“You set it too high” James finished

“I _hate_ this!” she pouted “my back hurts, my shoes are _killing_ my feet, I burned my mouth ealier taking a sip of coffee…”

 _”Well,’_ James thought _’that explains the lisp’_

“…and to top it all off, Alex is out there somewhere, having all the fun with _my_ powers”

“Kara, you don’t know that,” James pointed out “for all we know, Astra has Alex on desk duty until they can reverse it”

******

“In the past six hours, this group of thugs have mangaged to take rob three armored cars, each carrying over ten thousand dollars in gold bullion,” Astra began “taking out several highly trained security personnel in the process. Now, the NCPD and the FBI think that it might be an inside job, but our intel suggests that its something a bit more...extra-normal”

“Alien weaponry?” Lucy asked

“Close, an alien _is_ their weapon,” Astra explained, pulling up a file on the monitors “a K’hund. A bit stronger than your average Fort Rozz escapee and about twice as angry, they’re naturally violent and aggressive, and that’s on a good day. Our intel suggests that there’s going to be another heist sometime tonight. Now,” she turned back to the strike team “with Supergirl currently out of commission we’d have a hard time confronting, much less, _subduing_ a creature like this. Fortunetly, while Supergirl may not be here, we have our own superpowered asset,” she paused as she turned to see Alex lazily spinning in her chair “I'm sorry, am I _boring_ you, Agent Danvers?” she asked

“No”

“Then would you mind not playing with the office equipment?” Astra turned to the rest of the strike team “Agent Lane will be in command for the duration of this operation, while Agent Danvers will be on point to subdue the K’hund. Move out”

“You heard her” Lucy barked out, swiftly leading the team to the armory to load up. Astra gently touched Alex’s arm, stopping her as she moved to follow

“Did you get all that or do I have to repeat it?”

“I got it, I got it,” Alex dismissed “relax,” she grinned “it’ll be fine”

******

They found the gang of robbers in the midst of another robbery, the K’hund actually _holding_ the truck back as it tried to escape

“Don't move! Don’t move!” Lucy bellowed as the strike team poured out of the SUV. With a growl, the K’hund leapt up, clearing at least half a block. Lucy tapped her comm. “Alex? You’re up”

******

Alex landed in front of the K’hund as he tried to escape down an alleyway. He skidded to a stop as he saw her

“Kryptonian!” he spat. With an angry bellow he charged, Alex swiftly dodged, easily blocking the blow. She threw out a hand, catching him in the face, sending him back about six feet

“Too easy,” she grinned. The K’hund suddenly sat up, charging again, Alex spun, catching his arm and sending him face-first into a wall "is that it?" she grinned, sweeping his legs out from under him and pinning him to the ground, why was she wasting her time with this, she wondered “you know,” she began “I’ve fought Kryptonians, White Martains, and Hellgermites, but you? You’re not worth my time,” she lifted her foot, releasing him “go on, get out of here before I change my mind”

Snarling in clear confustion, the K’hund bounded away again, just as the SUV pulled up, Lucy climbing out

“Are you are all right?” she asked

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Alex dismissed “hostile got away, though…”


	83. ...corrupts Absolutely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one should have too much power...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Multiple update! Enjoy :=)

******

“Director Inzeli, ma’am?” Susan asked “Senator Crane is in your office, she said that you were going to give her an update on the K’hund” she explained

“Sounds fun” Alex muttered as she took a bite of her cheeseburger, propping her feet up on the operations table. Astra and Ssuan both frowned at each other, Alex was _never_ this cavilaear about an escaped alien, espically one that she lost

“I’ll tell her that you’ll be right there” Susan nodded as Astra approached Alex. Sighing, Alex put down her burger

“And here comes the lecture” she sighed as she got up and stalked into the armory

“I know that you may be a little rusty,” Astra began as she followed Alex into the armory, the door shutting behind her “but you do know that our objective here at the DEO is _catch_ alien criminals, not to let them get away?”

“Will you get off my back?!” Alex snapped “god! You make it sound like Kara’s the only one with powers around here. You want to catch the K’hund, why don’t you do it yourself?”

“You know why I can’t do that” Astra stated

“Why not?” Alex demanded “you talk about honoring my father, both you and J’onn, so why don’t you actually get out there and _do_ something instead of just _sitting here like two lumps on a log?!_ ” snartling in clear annoyance, she turned and stalked away

Leaving Astra mystified…

******

“OK, that was weird,” Kara said as she shut her phone “Alex just called me and asked if we wanted to go out for dirnks with her tonight at that new club, Club Apocalypse”

“Well, isn’t that a good thing?” James asked "I mean, it sounds like she's doing better"

“James, we’re talking about Alex ‘workaholic’ Danvers,” Kara insisted “she doesn’t even _eat_ when she’s working, and she hasn't gone clubbing in years, not since she joined the DEO, and…what is going with Siobhan?” she nodded to where Siobhan was apparently in argument with Cat

“Apparetnly she tried to get Cat to print some story about another superpowered woman out there, and when Cat refused, she tried to go over Cat’s head to Perry White” James explained

“Ooh,” Kara cringed “I do _not_ want to be her right now”

As they both watched, Sibohan stalked out of Cat’s office and stormed out to the elevators…

******

“OK, why is today’s music so loud?” Kara asked over the pounding beat at Club Apocalypse “seriously? Are they trying to make people deaf?”

“I don’t know,” James laughed “do you see Alex yet?”

“No,” Kara stood on tip-toe and scanned the crowd “do you?” she asked

James turned, choking at what he saw

“I think I found her” he stared as Alex, dressed in an extremely low-cut dress, suddenly pulled some random woman into a makeout session

“What the…?” Kara went bug-eyed behind her glasses “Alex!” she hurriedly pushed her way through the crowd “hey! Alex!”

“Oh, Kara,” Alex grinned as she pulled away from the mystery woman “when’d you guys get here?”

“Uh, Alex, what are you doing?” Kara hissed “you already have a girlfriend, remember? Astra?”

“Hey, relax,” Alex smirked “what Astra doesn’t know won’t hurt her” she dismissed

“OK, look!” Kara grabbed Alex’s arm, tugging her away “I know that everything’s going crazy lately, what with the stabbing, and now my powers, but…Alex, cheating on Astra?” she shook her head in disbelief “I thought you loved her”

“Oh, I do,” Alex nodded “but right now she’s pissing my off,” she yanked her arm out of Kara’s grip “now, leave me alone,” she snapped “after all, isn’t that what you do best?” she sneered

“What is that supposed to mean?!” Kara gaped at her

“Oh, I don’t know,” Alex sighed “I just spent almost two weeks on a hospital gurney and not once, not _once_ did you show your face!”

“All right, I admit that was wrong and mean-spirited,” Kara began “but, Alex I know you, you would never cheat on some you loved, ever”

“Well, maybe you don’t know me as well as you think,” Alex hissed “for example, I’m tempted to just throw you across the room right now”

“No you wouldn’t” Kara shook her head

“Really?” the next thing Kara knew there was a splitting pain in her face and she was sailing across the room to collide with the far wall. Groaning, she weakly sat up, jumping as Alex suddenly loomed over her “don’t tell me my business, Kara” she warned…


	84. Red Menace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can they save Alex?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! :=)

******

“I see you had better luck than Agent Danvers did” Astra commented as Lucy’s strike team led the now-cuffed K’hund down the hall

“Yeah, well, nothing that I couldn’t handle” Lucy shrugged

“Do not overstate your own importance, Human!” the K’hund snarled “your own Kryptonian did not wish to fight me!”

“Really?” Astra asked “because the way I hear it you ran away”

“Lies! She released me!” he snarled “told me I wasn’t worth her time!”

“Contianment, now!” Astra ordered. As the agents led the K’hund away, Lucy turned to Astra

“You don’t really believe that walking steroid, do you?” she asked, Astra sighed

“When it comes to Maxwell Lord, Lucy, I’m willing to believe anything” she grumbled

“Hey,” Winn hurried over "uh, we have a big problem,” he held out a tablet “see, I was going over the security camera footage from the recent robbery, trying to see how King Kong back there could’ve gotten away, and I found…this” he held out the tablet, a grainy, black-and-white image of Alex pinning the K’hund to the ground. As they watched, Alex casually lifted her foot and released the K’hund, waving a hand dismissively

“Oh my god” Lucy exclaimed

“Winn,” Astra began “who else knows about this?”

“Just us” he confirmed

“Good, keep it that way for the time being” Astra nodded

“Ma’am?” Susan walked over “James Olsen is here, he says it’s urgent”

“Show Mr. Olsen to my office” Astra instructed

******

“Alex did _what?!_ ” Astra demanded

“She hit Kara,” James repeated “backhanded her across the room, in fact. It’s like she’s a different person now, like having Kara’s powers has done something to her mind”

Astra sighed

“I’m afraid this isn’t the first out of character thing she’s done,” she explained “we thought that her behavior was something personnel, or possibly related to PTSD due to the stabbing, but we’ve just found out that she let an alien fugitive go”

“You think it has something to do with whatever gave her Kara’s powers?” James wondered

“Maybe,” Astra nodded as she tapped her comm. “agent Schott, bring me every file you have on the red kryptonite sample” she instructed

“ _Red_ kryptonite?” James echoed “I thought it was green”

“This one’s a synthetic imitation created by Maxwell Lord” Astra explained

“Lord? He’s a lunatic” James exclaimed

“Oh, most definitely,” Astra agreed “where is Kara now?”

“She went to Alex’s apartment to try and talk her into coming in” James explained as there was a knock at the door

“Come in, Mr. Schott” Astra called out

“That is _really_ creepy,” Winn complained as he walked inside “OK,” he held out his tablet “here’s every piece of info I got on the red k”

“Any progress on the antidote?” Astra asked as she took the device from him

“I’m still fine-tuning it” Winn answered

“Damn it!” Astra hissed “the red kryptonite isn’t just affecting Alex’s body, its also affecting her _mind_. Its acting like alcohol on her brain, lowering her inhibitions” she explained

“Can’t you do something to jumpstart Kara’s powers?” James asked

“It doesn’t work like that,” Winn sighed “basically the energy from the red k is affecting both of them, Kara can’t get her powers back until we remove the energy from Alex” he explained…

******

“How is she?” Astra asked as Kara shuffled in. She was dressed in her costume, but the usual confidence she had as Supergirl was noticeably absent, replaced by a bone-weary tiredness

“She’s…changed,” she answered “I don’t know what she’s capable of now” she whispered

“Kara…,” Astra gently gripped her by the shoulders “what did she do to you?”

Kara shook her head

“She didn’t… _do_ anything…but…she said some…things,” she explained “about us, about you”

“Damn” Astra hissed, angrily raking a hand through her hair

“How’s Winn working on the antidote?” Kara asked

“It’s almost ready” Astra nodded

“But what if it isn’t ready in time?” Kara demanded “what then? How do we stop someone with her training and my powers?”

“You need to take her down,” they both turned to see Senator Crane walking up to them, Lucy in tow “you need to use every resource the DEO has and stop this threat” the Senator continued

“I’m not going to kill her” Astra shook her head

“I know that this is personal to you both,” Senator Crane sighed “but the DEO was created to eliminate threats to this planet. What do you call Agent Danvers right now?”

“She’s right,” Lucy sighed “as much as I hate to admit it, Alex _is_ a danger to others right now, we should at least bring her in and keep her in containment until we can fix this”

Astra sighed and tapped her comm.

“Vasquez, assemble the troops, we’re moving out,” she ordered “Agent Danvers is the target” she added grimly

“You can’t!” Kara insisted

“Hopefully I won’t, hopefully she’ll come quietly,” Astra agreed “but if it comes down it, I just might have to”

“It’s ready,” Winn leaned out the lab, holding up a rifle-like device “I modified this particle beam rifle; it should force the red k out of Alex’s system” he explained, holding it out

“What about Supergirl?” Lucy asked as she took it from him

“Well, hopefully, as soon as the red stuff’s out of Alex, her powers will just kinda…snap back into place” he explained

“I hope this works” Astra nodded as agents in full TAC gear filed by

“Me too,” Winn nodded “also,” he held out a small, iPhone-sized device “I figured out how to track her by using the red k radiation she’s giving off right now”

“Good,” Astra nodded as she took the device from him. She glanced at Kara “you don’t have to come” she offered

“No, I have to,” Kara shook her head “I have to try to reach her”

******

“Target is somewhere along Shuster Street” Lucy reported as she studied the scanner that Winn had made up

“ _Lucy,_ ” Winn called out over the comm. “ _a call just came over the police scanner, there’s a woman matching Alex’s description at a bar at the corner of West 34th. According to the call, she just threw a car through the window_ ”

“That’s got to be her!” Kara exclaimed from the backseat with the rest of the strike team

“Copy that, Winn,” Lucy responded as she spun the wheel, the SUV fishing tailing around the corner “wish us luck” she muttered as they came onto a veritable warzone. One NCPD cruiser had indeed been thrown through the window of a bar, another was on fire, and another had been flipped over, four officers crouched behind it, and countless civilians rushed in every direction in a blind panic.

And in the midst of all this chaos was Alex.

She floated about twenty feet up off the ground, ignoring the bullets bouncing off her as the DEO strike team poured out of the fleet of SUVs and opened fire. But, for some reason—possibly because she was Human and not Kryptonian—the green kryptonite rounds bounced off her just like regular bullets.

Climbing out of the SUV, Lucy took aim with the particle rifle, feeling it hum in her hands as it charged. She watched as Alex’s head suddenly snapped in her direction

“Oh shit”

There was a sudden gust of wind as Alex shot forward in a burst of speed; agents suddenly flying into the air like ragdolls as she rushed them. Lucy gasped at the sudden pain radiating up and down her arm

“Alex! Stop!” Kara rushed out of the SUV, firmly planting herself between Lucy and Alex “this isn’t you!” she insisted “we’re trying to help you!” she pleaded

“Funny, doesn’t look like help to me,” Alex remarked as she floated a foot or two above the ground “you ever consider that maybe I don’t want your help?” she demanded, her lips twisted in a sneer “but, no, you _always_ want to help people, you always see the good in them. Well, newsflash, Supergirl, there is _no good in people!_ All there is greed and selfishness! These people! All of them! Don’t give a shit about each other! All they care about is themselves!” she spat, her eyes suddenly lit up with the glow of heat vision “why should I care about them? Why should anybody?” she wondered

There was a screech of tires as another SUV pulled up, Astra rushing out of the driver’s seat

“Alex! No!” she charged towards Alex at a sprint, Alex spun and easily flung her aside, sending her into a nearby parked car

“Alex…please,” Kara panted out “you don’t want to do this”

Still leaning against the SUV, cradling her injured arm, Lucy looked towards where Astra had landed. She watched as Astra slowly climbed to her feet, her face hard, and then…then she suddenly shot forward in a burst of superspeed, slamming into Alex from behind and hurling them both into a parked car

“Don’t do this,” Astra pleaded as she struggled to hold Alex still. Alex responded to the plea with a head butt, knocking Astra away and then following it up with a hard uppercut, catapulting Astra skyward, before swiftly giving chase, the two figures colliding with the side of the CatCo building, sending down a shower of glass…

Astra drew back a fist, punching Alex hard, sending her smashing straight _through_ the building. Shooting around the side of the building, Astra caught Alex as she emerged from the other side, delivering a flurry of punches and kicks, zigzagging back and forth, moving at a speed that Alex, even her temporarily enhanced reflexes, simply couldn’t keep up with.

Grunting with the effort, Astra gripped the front of Alex’s shirt in both hands “I’m sorry, my darling” she said, before literally _flinging_ Alex towards the ground, where she actually shattered the pavement with the impact, creating a large shallow crater.

Landing in a crouch, Astra took note of the panicking crowds, many of whom had their cell phones out, no doubt recording it all. Turning, Astra tensed as Alex shakily climbed to her feet, unaware of Lucy, who swiftly approached from behind, the particle rifle in hand. Taking aim, she fired, the bright red beam striking Alex in the back, causing her to jerk and spasm before she finally collapsed, jerking as a bright red hazed of energy floated out of her body, a similar haze leaving Kara’s body

“Alex!” Kara shakily staggered over to Alex’s limp form, Lucy right behind her

“She’s still breathing” Lucy sighed. She glanced back at Astra, watching as the strike team swiftly surrounded her, guns drawn

“Go!” Kara urged “please!” she pleaded. Astra smirked and winked at Kara before slowly lowering herself to her knees, hands behind her head “no” Kara whispered, watching in horror as Astra was swiftly cuffed and led away…


	85. Paradise Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Falling is not the problem, its when you land that causes all the grief. End of AU of "Fallen"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter EIGHTY-FIVE! Enjoy! :=)

_**"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"**_  
\--2 Timothy 4:7 

******

The strike team made quite the spectacle as they walked back into the DEO. In addition to Alex, who was being carried in unconscious on a gurney, they were also leading a cuffed Astra as well. Lucy cringed as she saw the expressions on the faces of the agents they passed by, all of whom had no doubt seen footage of the aerial fight between Alex and Astra, surprise seemed to be the predominant emotion, next came confusion, then betrayal, and finally fear.

Lucy held up a hand, stopping the procession as they reached Command

“Agent Lane,” Senator Crane acknoloedged as she approached the group, visibly outraged as she glanced at Astra “what _the hell_ just happened?” she demanded

“Something unexpected” Lucy muttered

“What’s the status of agent Danvers and Supergirl?” Senator Crane asked

“They’ve both been taken to the infirmary” Lucy replied

“And _her?_ ” the Senator asked, nodding at Astra

“She’s willingly surrendered herself to our custody” Lucy explained, Senator Crane nodded jerkily, her movements sharp and quick, as she turned to Astra

“Agent Lane, until agent Danvers can resume her duties, I’m naming you as Acting Director of the DEO” she explained

“Understood” Lucy nodded, stamping down her surprise

The Senator nodded at Astra

“Now take the… _alien_ to a cell” she ordered

Lucy sighed and gently tugged on Astra’s arm

“Come on”

******

Alex blinked as she came back to awareness, focusing on the now-all-too-familiar image of ceiling of the DEO’s infirmary. Had it all been some sort of terrifying nightmare? She hoped, but…no, it had been all too real. Looking around, she spotted Kara standing nearby, who smiled as she approached

“Did I kill anyone?” Alex asked

“No,” Kara soothed as she took Alex’s hand “you didn’t kill anyone”

Alex felt herself began to tremble as the memories what she did, what she’d said, all came rushing back in full living Technicolor

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, squeezing Kara’s hand tightly “I’m sorry, it was…every bad thought, everything I’ve ever wanted to do deep down just came rushing to the surface”

“Ssh, I know, I know,” Kara soothed “that wasn’t you, OK? That was the red kryptonite talking”

“No,” Alex shook her head “no, it _was_ me, everything I’ve ever wanted to say, to do, the…monster inside just came out”

“We all have a monster inside us,” Kara pointed out “what you did, what you said,” she shook her head “I don’t blame you”

“You should,” Alex hissed “you should”

“But I’m not,” Kara insisted, squeezing her hand tighter “you’re my sister, Alex, and no matter what, I will _always_ , always, love you,” she took a breath “but…those things you said…at your apartment, we…we’re going to have to talk about that sometime”

Alex nodded shakily, even as a sense of dread suddenly overcame her

“Kara,” she whispered “what about Astra?”

******

“What do I call you?” Senator Crane asked as she stood outside the kryptonite cell, where Astra quietly sat

“My name is ‘Astra In-Ze’,” Astra replied “formerly of the planet Krypton”

“Did you kill Hank Henshaw?”

“No”

“Were you a prisoner aboard Fort Rozz?”

“Yes”

Crane scoffed in clear disgust as she abruptly turned and marched out of the room. Sighing, Astra sat back down on the bench, looking up as the doors slid open again, Alex tenativly walking in, her movements uncertain, hesitant, nothing at all like the strong, defiant Alex Danvers that Astra had hopelessly fallen in love with, and it broke her heart to see Alex reduced to this

For a moment neither of them spoke as Alex quietly approached the cell. Her throat bobbed for a second before she spoke

“Why didn’t you run?” she asked in a raw and ragged tone “you could have run,” she insisted, she suddenly slammed a fist down on the transparency angrily “damn it, Astra! _Why. Didn’t. You. Run?!_ ” she demanded, repeatiedly slamming her fist on the transparency. She groaned and slumped agisnt the barrier, panting for breath

“You know why” Astra answered softly

Alex let out a breathless laugh

“I never imagined my life would turn out this way,” she began quietly “I always thought that the most exciting thing to ever happen to me was when Superman dropped Kara off on our lawn,” she continued “and then I met you,” she looked up at Astra, tears pricking her eyes. Straightening up, she placed her hand on the transparency “I’ll get you out of here” she vowed

Astra smiled softly as she placed her own hand on the transparency, matching Alex’s…


	86. Manhunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fear does funny things to people. AU of "Manhunter"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy! :=)

_**”We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We are not driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men”**_

\--Edward R. Murrow

******

“ _…even more mysterious than the identity of the superpowered woman who rampaged through downtown last month is the identity of the mysterious woman who stopped her reign of terror. Now, the question remains, who are these, scary, powerful, and potentially dangerous individuals? Why didn’t Supergirl stop them? And will they return?_ ”

“What a load of BS,” Winn exclaimed, he gestured wildly at the screen “they’re acting like this is the start of an alien invasion”

“Fear does funny things to people” Lucy commented with a tired sigh

“Yeah,” Winn noted grimly, he nodded to where Alex stood deep in conversation with Vasquez “how do you think she’s taking it?”

“Not good,” Lucy sighed “between seeing Astra locked up and knowing that she’s the cause…” she trailed off

“Yeah” Winn sighed, watching as Alex turned and stalked out of Command…

******

“You know, you don’t look all that dangerous when you’re stuffing a Ruben sandwich in your face” Alex commented as she walked into Astra’s cell and was greeted by the sight of Astra devouring a messy Ruben sandwich piled high with pastrami and sauerkraut. The Kryptonian smirked as she wiped at her mouth with a napkin

“How did you know this is my favorite food?” she chuckled

“You eat them almost all the time,” Alex pointed out “if you eat something all the time it usually means that you like it”

Astra smirked as she popped the last bit of crust into her mouth and wiped at her mouth again

“You need to stop doing this, Alex” she sighed

“I like taking care of you for once” Alex told her

“My mission, above all else, was to protect _you_ ” Astra pointed out

“Missions change” Alex stated simply

“Not this one,” Astra sighed “which is why I’m telling you now, you need to _distance yourself_. Stop visiting me, stop bringing me food” she the paper bag that the sandwich had come in for emphasis

“What? And have you starve?” Alex chuckled

“I’m serious, Alex!” Astra sighed “if they ask, just say you never knew about me,” she bowed her head, a curtain of dark curls obscuring her face “say I betrayed you” she added quietly

“I would never do that” Alex stated firmly

“There has to be a _reckoning_ , Alex,” Astra sighed “an alien lied and took control of a government agency, worse still, an alien who confessed to having been a prisoner aboard Fort Rozz. This doesn’t end in people getting fired, or even going to jail, it—,” she sighed and scowled “people get _disappeared_ for this sort of thing,” she sighed “they’re going to tear this place apart, down to the roots, the very screws holding this place together, looking for whoever helped me, no matter who it is, or who gets hurt in the process. And they will _not stop_ until they find who they’re looking for”

“Then I’ll lie,” Alex said simply “I’ll convince, I will do everything that you _taught me to do_ , but I am not _abandoning_ : you. Ever,” she took a breath _this_ is rock bottom,” she whispered tearfully “and I know the kind of person that I’m going to be”

The doors to cell suddenly opened

“Ma’am,” Susan leaned in “you need to get out here right now”

******

Walking into Command Alex found a scene that looked like something out Orwell's’ _1984_. Nearly every agent on duty—including Winn—had been lined up and were now being given instructions and brief pat-downs by several men in camouflage

“Agent Danvers,” Lucy nodded towards the apparent mastermind of this bizarre scene “you remember my father”

“General Lane” Alex nodded politely at the man, who looked…oddly uncomfortable she realized, as if there was something more to this story then what met the eye. Alex glanced at the man standing next to Lane in full Marine Corps dress, bearing the insignia of a colonel, and rather weasely expression, his dark, beady eyes darted around suspiciously, studying everything

“Agent Danvers,” Lane acknowledged “Director Lane” he gave Lucy a brief, fatherly smile, despite the circumstances he was still proud of his daughter, and even Alec couldn’t fault him for that. He gestured to the man next to him “this Colonel James Harper, United States Marine Corps,” he introduced him “the Pentagon has ordered a joint taskforce to investigate Astra In-Ze’s infiltration of the DEO” he explained

“They want to what she’s done and who knew about it,” Colonel Harper picked up “so everyone here will be interviewed, all activities, all communications will be scrutinized,” he explained as the soldiers began to lead the agents out of the room “there will be no outside communication for the duration of this investigation” Harper added

“Sounds like a witch-hunt” Alex commented, Harper’s rather weasely, beady eyes swung in her direction, looking at her as if she was a bug under his shoe and he wasn’t sure if he should step on her or not

“This is an internal investigation,” he sneered “done by the book, to identify, remove, and ultimately prosecute enemies of the state”

“I’ve been called in to oversee this investigation because my familiarity with the DEO,” General Lane picked up “and I am concerned that everyone here may have been compromised by Astra In-Ze. You should be too” he warned as he fixed Lucy with a warning look, and Alex could see the fear hidden in his eyes, fear for his daughter, fear that she might get caught up in this whole mess

“Which is why we need to know who what when. And uncover anything that Astra In-Ze and her confederates were planning,” Harper picked up, seemingly not noticing—or, more likely, not caring—about Lane’s concern for his daughter, it was clear to Alex that as far as Harper was concerned, no one was above suspicion. He fixed her with a pointed stare, clearly knowing about her being affected by the red kryptonite last moth “we’ll discuss the question of your loyalties later,” he warned. He gestured to one of the soldiers buzzing about the room “take the Kryptonian to the interrogation room,” he ordered “we start with her...” 

******

The DEO had only one interrogation room. It was small, essentially nothing more than a metal box with one door, one overhead light hanging from the ceiling, and a single, plain metal table and a chair. Currently cuffed to the chair was one General Astra In-Ze. She fixed the two Marines watching her with interest, they both carried rifles—M-14 assault rifles to be exact—both of which were aimed at her head, if she tilted her head in the right angle she could see the familiar green glow of kryptonite coming from the magazines, at this distance it probably wasn’t strong enough to stop her from escaping if she really wanted to. But she stamped down her natural instinct to flee and instead leaned back in the chair, the ordinary handcuffs _clinking_ slightly as she did.

There was an electronic buzz as the door opened, two men walked in, silently ordering the two soldiers to stand down by virtue of their presence

“General Lane,” Astra nodded in acknowledgment as General Lane stepped into the light “you’re looking well,” she glanced at the man with him “who’s your friend?”

“Colonel James Harper, United States Marine Corps,” the stranger introduced himself as he began to slowly walk around the table “for ten years,” he began as he walked around to stand behind her “you’ve been in charge of protecting our planet, our children—our _children_ —and, in all that time, you haven’t been who you said you are, ‘Captain Inzeli’. Or what you are”

Astra inwardly grimaced as he rested his hands on her shoulders, his touch made her skin crawl

“I want you to know, gentlemen that I intend to fully cooperate with your investigation” she said

“Why? So you can plant false thoughts in our brains?” Harper sneered “no,” he chuckled “I know what you can do. And what you can’t do anymore,” she felt him lean in behind her “you smell that?” he whispered in her ear “kind of like burnt rubber, right?” he chuckled as he leaned back “it’s a little something my team came up with,” he said, holding out small, boxy rectangular device “we’re generating a stasis field,” he explained “it keeps you from using your powers,” he added as he finished his circuit of the table, resting a hand one of the chairs opposite hers “so, I hope you liked being human, Astra In-Ze,” he began.

He rested his hands flat on the tabletop and leaned in menacingly

“Because that’s how you’re going stay until I’m done with you” he hissed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edward R Murrow was a television reporter who, among other feats, famously criticized the communist witch-hunts of Cold War-era America in a televised speech, speaking out against the vicious, often baseless, attacks hurled at anyone who was even _suspected_ of being a communist, seriously, if you spoke fluent Russian at that time, the FBI probably had a file on you.
> 
> For more information about Murrow, check out his Wikipedia article :=)


	87. Close Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When we finally meet intelligent alien life, we might be surprised at what we might find...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter EIGHTY-SEVEN! Enjoy! :=)

******

“Tell us how Hank Henshaw died” General Lane requested as he sat down, Astra sighed…

******

**Ten years ago…**

_“As you all know, the DEO was founded to combat extraterrestrial threats,” Hank Henshaw began “in that time we’ve faced countless alien fugitives who escaped from Fort Rozz, creatures who, with their very presence, threat our safety and our way of life. But now we’re about to face our most dangerous alien threat of all,” he fixed each member of the team with a hard stare meant to drive home the point of just how serious this mission was “make no mistake, gentlemen, this creature is no ordinary futigtive, it is a Kryptonian,” a murmer went through the team as he pulled up a crealy fragmented Fort Rozz prisoner file, which displayed a few disjointed fragments of text “we don’t know its name, but we do know that the alien was a member of Krypton’s military, holding the rank of ‘general’,” he explained._

_He turned towards the maps on the operations table “it triggered one of our remote outpost probes here, where the Cascade Mountains meet the Canadian Rockies,” he circled an area on the map, stabbing the marker down for emphasis “and _that_ is where we shall find our query. Your orders are as follows; shoot-to-kill. Gear up men, we move in five”_

_“Director Henshaw,” Jeremiah Danvers lingered behind “if this alien really is Kryptonian, then think of it knows,” he urged “what it could teach us”_

_“The only thing I’m interested about this thing is the color of its blood,” Henshaw interrupted, giving Jeremiah a withering glare “now check your bleeding heart at the armory and grow a pair…agent Danvers” he ordered as he stalked off. Sighing, Jeremiah turned and looked over at J’onn, the borrowed face of Susan Vasquez twisted into a tight smile…_

******

**The Pacific Northwest…**

_“Thermal tracking indicates that the target has been active recently,” Henshaw reported as the team stomped their way through the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest “prepare to put up a fight,” Henshaw added “it will not go quietly. Spread out”_

_Spreading out as ordered, Jeremiah swung his rifle up as he made his way through a thicket of trees, grunting and hissing in pain as the branches and pine needles scratched at his skin_

_“Damn it,” he spat out a mouthful of pine needles and took a step…gasping as the ground suddenly crumbled beneath his feet “no, no, no!” he frantically scrabbled for a handhold as the earth just dropped straight down. This was it, the end…_

_A hand suddenly gripped his arm, jerking him to a stop. Looking up, he gapped at the image of a woman floating about twenty feet in the air, now holding_ him _abot twenty feet in the air. Swinging her arm up, the woman easily—almost casually—flung him back onto solid ground, gently landing in front of him…_

******

“You can’t seriously expect us to believe that you _saved_ the life of Jeremiah Danvers?” General Lane scoffed incredulously “he was on a mission to kill you”

“You asked for the truth” Astra reminded him

“What is ‘truth’ to you?” Harper scoffed “huh? Pretending to be someone you’re not? Wearing a uniform that doesn’t belong to you?”

“I did _not_ kill Jeremiah Danvers”

“Then how, exactly, did he die?” General Lane asked…

******

_Astra watched as the Human had swiftly built a fire and now sat in front of it, shivering_

_“You know, the fire’s not going to hurt you,” he called out “but it’ll keep me from freezing to death tonight,” he added with a chuckle “not unless you’re willing to cuddle,” he muttered, Astra briefly glanced up at his attempt at humor “OK, you don’t like fire” he finally sighed_

_“My planet…burned” Astra found herself saying suddenly, as she reached out to warm her hands by the fire. She could feel the Human’s eyes on her, he was studying her, examining her, most likely imagining the best place to put a knife, she thought_

_“What planet are you from?” he finally asked. Astra shook her head, no, she wouldn’t think of Krypton, of Alura, of Kara. Not now, not ever_

_“What does it matter,” she said at last “you’re here to kill me,” she scoffed as she looked away “and you call_ me _a threat” she spat_

_“No, no, no,” he stood up quickly “OK, the agency that I work for,” he began “they’re the ones who pegged you as a threat, as a…an enemy. That was before you saved me. That was before I learned that you’re not a threat,” he shook his head imploringly “you’re not,” he repeated “you’re a_ refugee _. Like my daughter,” he reached into his vest pocket, slowy pulling out a small flat square“this one, here,” he said as he held out what she now knew to be a photograph “Kara, she’s adopted,” he explained “she’s not from ‘here’ either”_

_Astra took the photograph and almost wept at what she saw_

_“Kara” she whispered, her niece, her little one, alive! She had survived_

_“You know her” the Human stated, and Astra could only nod shakily as she slowly traced her fingers across the photo, running her fingertips across the image of Kara’s smiling features_

_“My niece” she whispered_

_“So…you are from Krypton” the Human murmered quietly. Astra nodded tearfully looked up at him, she couldn’t believe it, since she had arrived on this world she had seen almost nothing of selfishness and greed from Humanity, a species who, time after time, would massacure its own members simply because they spoke a different language, believed in a different god, or simply looked different. But, this Human was clearly not like those other Humans_

_“You took her in,” she said softly, disbelieving “you helped her, raised her as your own”_

_“Just like she was my own daughter,” he chuckled “that one there, Alex, she’s…well, I guess you could say that she’s Kara’s sister,” he chuckled “she’s tough, they both are, in their own way, but Alex looks out for Kara, keeps her safe”_

_“Sisters,” Astra repeated softly, unable to take her eyes off at how_ happy _Kara looked, truly happy. Slowly, almost reverently, she passed the photo back to him “Kara’s…mother was…my sister” she said softly as he took the photo back and tucked it back into his pocket_ _“Look,” he began “when I link up back with my team, I’m going to tell them about you, about what you did for me”_

_“I won’t be someone’s experiment!” Astra snarled_

_“You won’t,” he insisted “I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you safe, to help you find your place in the world, reunite you with Kara if you want,” he straightened up “my name is Jeremiah Danvers,” he introduced himself “you can consider me a friend” he held out his hand. For a long moment Astra stared at him, it could all be an elaborate ruse, she knew, but…no, there was a kindness in this man’s eyes, a gentleness, he could not speak for his entire race, she knew, but he was sincere when he said that would do everything he could to keep her safe, to reunite her with Kara._

_Finally, Astra straightened up and offered her own hand_

_“I am General Astra In-Ze” she introduced herself, the Human—Jeremiah, she mentally corrected herself—smiled at her_

_“Nice to meet you, Astra” he reached for her hand, but then Astra froze as she heard it. Another Human heartbeat, it was beating strongly, close by. She sent a silent prayer that she hadn’t been wrong about her assessment of Jeremiah Danvers_

_“Someone’s here” she whispered. There was a sharp _crack_ and a bright bolt of green light suddenly shot out of the brush, striking Astra in the upper thigh, tearing through her skin with a horrible, agonizing _burn _, a kind of pain she never knew before now, worse than the tortures of Fort Rozz, a pain that seemed to leech the very strength from her body, replacing it with an agonizing, icy, burn._ __

____

_Howling in agony, she fell to the ground, clutching at her leg as blood seeped through her fingers_

____

_“GOT IT!!” Astra watched through the haze of pain as a figure tore through the underbrush. Shoving a protesting Jeremiah aside, the other Human male quickly pinned Astra to the ground with a boot to her chest. He hefted the heavy rifle in his hands as he leered down at her triumphantly “I designed these bullets especially for you, Kryptonian!” he hissed “’the only person who had even half a chance of saving Krypton’,” he mocked “you know who said that? Superman,” he chuckled “sure means something coming from him”_

_____ _

_From her position on the ground Astra glared at Jeremiah, outraged_

_____ _

_“This is who you ally yourself with?!” she demanded “this butcher?!” she screamed as the other Human—‘Hank’ Jeremiah had called him--coldly fired a second round into her shoulder, seeming to enjoy her pained screams_

_____ _

_“Looks like you’re getting your strength back,” he commented as she writhed in pain “best finish you off quick”_

_____ _

_“Hank! Stop!” she watched as Jeremiah lunged, grabbing the other man’s arm “she’s a good person!” he protested “she—” he grunted as ‘Hank’ roughly shoved him back, forcing Jeremiah to the ground_

_____ _

_**_“IT’S NOT A PERSON!!”_** _he roared as he raised the rifle, at level with Astra’s head. She closed her eyes, wishing to see something other than her inpending death, only to open them at a bellow from Jeremiah. She watched, amazed, as he lunged, throwing ‘Hank’ to the ground, and grappling with him; the two men clawing at each other like wild animaks as the fought. Gritting her teeth, she struggled to get upright; watching as Jeremiah suddenly shoved the other man over the edge of the ravine, sending him plummeting to his death__

____

_Gasping, Astra managed to roll over onto her stomach and began to drag herself over to where Jeremiah still lay, recoiling at the sight of the knife buried in his abdomen. Struggling, she manged to get to her knees and, as gently as possible, rolled Jeremiah onto her back. She stared at the knife hilt, not having felt so helpless since her trial on Krypton, had she had her powers she could’ve caturized the wound, or flown him to the nearest medical facility, but whatever substance the other man, ‘Hank’, had used in his ammuniation seemed to be nullifying her newfound gifts._

____

_Blinking away her tears, she watched as Jeremiah weakly raised his hand and managed to awkwardly pulled the photograph out of his pocket. He weakly placed it into her hand, gently curling her fingers around it_

____

_“T-t-take care of my girls” he pleaded, she nodded somberly_

____

_“I will,” she vowed “I am…glad to have met you, Jeremiah Danvers,” she said softly “and I am sorry that I could not know you better” she whispered, helpless as she watched him take a final ragged breath…_

____

******

____

“…since that day, I’ve assumed the responsibilities of being the director of the DEO,” Astra finished “and this…this ‘disguise’ allowed me to prevent many actual alien attacks. And if you want to dispose of me for being different, then so be it”

____

“This is not about being different” Lane emphasized

____

“Isn’t it?” Astra challenged, inwardly smirking when General Lane looked away at that, something akin to surprise flickering across his features

____

“Maybe you planned to build an alien army,” Harper suggested “but _why?_ ”

____

“Who better to protect the Earth from aliens, then an alien?”

____

“What better way to _take down our world_ than from _inside_ the organization tasked with protecting it?” Harper sneered

____

“All I have done is bring honor to this department,” Astra stated “to this rank. Hank Henshaw was a _disgraceful_ example of humanity”

____

Harper stood up suddenly

____

“Hank Henshaw was my best friend,” he began “he dedicated his life to keeping this country safe. And you murdered him”

____

The door to the room suddenly swung open

____

“You can’t just come in here!” Lane roared

____

“You’re right, Dad,” Lucy said “I can’t,” she nodded to the figure standing next to her “but he can”

____

“Interview’s over” Superman declared as he stepped inside the room…

____


	88. Distrubance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paranoia is like an insect, it crawls deep inside your mind and whispers 'don't trust anyone'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy! :=)

_**"Those who would sacrifice their freedom for security will find that they gain neither"**_

\--Benjamin Franklin

******

Alex watched the spectacle unfolding in front of her with disbelieving eyes. She glanced at Kara, who seemed just as stunned as she was

“Are you telling me that you _knowingly_ allowed an alien fugtive to infiltrate the DEO?!” General Lane demanded as he and Superman faced off across the operations table from each other

“No,” Superman began “I let an alien _refugee_ take control of an organization that is supposed to _protect_ this planet. Not _butcher_ hundreds of innocent beings simplely because they weren’t born here”

“Do you know what kind of a threat you let in here?!” Lane demanded

“General, Astra In-Ze is not a threat,” Superman calmly pointed out “in the past twelve years, under her leadership, the DEO has stopped at least a dozen alien attacks, many times through peaceful, non-violent means. You can’t judge a person on their past alone,” he pointed out “what Astra has done _now_ has to count for something”

“Her ‘actions’ subsequent to her crimes are neither here nor there” Lane scoffed

“Dad,” Lucy sighed “look at Henshaw’s file,” she implored “he knowingly killed over half a dozen aliens without bothering to assess their threat level, if any, first. And at least two of those aliens came here with their _children_ , who he also killed without a second thought,” she sighed and walked up to him “don’t you _get it?_ ” she asked “if you keep treating everything as black and white, you’re going to keep breeding the same kind of hate and fear that you claim to be fighting against”

“I am trying to _protect_ us,” Lane exclaimed “espically _you_ , Lucy”

“And that’s what makes it so sad,” Lucy sighed “because you keep pushing me away”

Turning away from the Lane family drama, Alex scowled at the screens over the top of Winn’s head, which showed Harper still questioning Astra

“They’ve been in there for hours” she sighed towards Kara

“We have to get her out of there” Kara hissed, Alex glanced at General Lane, who was still deep in argument with his daughter and Superman

“And implicate ourselves as acsessories?” she asked quietly “we won’t be any help to Astra if they lock us up with her” she reminded her

“I’d like to see them just _try_ and lock me up” Kara snarled

“Careful,” Alex warned “Harper’s probably just itching to do just that,” she glanced back at General Lane and then turned back to Kara “what can you hear?” she asked, she watched as Kara tilted her head, obviously dialing up her hearing, only to suddenly wince “what?” Alex glanced back at a thankfully still-distracted General Lane “what is it?” she hissed

“It’s…,” Kara shook her head as she rubbed at her ear “they’re blocking me” she explained

“Uh-oh,” Winn suddenly muttered “uh, Supergirl?” he asked “we’ve got some kind of…sonic disturbance at CatCo”

“What kind of disturbance?” Kara asked as her cell phone chirped, followed by Winn’s “e-mail blast,” Kara read “CatCo’s on lockdown”

“Problem, Supergirl?” Lucy asked as she came over, her father and Superman following

“There’s something happening at CatCo” Kara raked a hand through her hair, clearly torn

“Go,” Alex encouraged “we’ll hold down the fort”

“Need a hand?” Superman asked, Kara’s face lit up

“Really?” she asked, Superman smiled

“Why not?” he shrugged “I’m here, might as well help out,” he pointed out, he glanced at General Lane “we’ll be back,” he promised “remember what I said, General” he pleaded, then in two gusts of wind, they were gone

Alex sighed and glanced back towards the screens, watching as Harper stood up and gestured to the two Marines, both of whom quickly pulled Astra to her feet and slapped a pair of kryptonite handcuffs on her wrists, followed by a pair of ankle cuffs

“What the hell…?” she muttered “General Lane?” she called out; turning to face him “did you authorize a prisoner transfer for Astra In-Ze?”

“What?” Lane asked, clearly confused, he looked over her shoulder at the screens, a look of outrage crossing his face. Snarling in annoyance, he turned and stormed down the hall towards the interrogation room, Alex and Lucy following

“Hey,” Alex called out as they came across Harper as he led Astra out of the room “where are you taking her?”

“Hey, you need to step back” Harper warned as the two Marines stopped

“Colonel, I did not authorize you to transfer the prisoner!” General Lane barked

“Orders from higher up, sir” Harper answered, handing Lane a folded piece of paper, a slight sneer in his voice when he said _’sir’_. Lane scowled as he snatched the paper from Harper and began to read it with Lucy

“It’s official,” Lucy finally sighed “orders to transfer her to a more ‘secure facility’.” she explaiend 

“I have worked with this woman for two years,” Alex stated “she has _never_ endangered this planet, she’s _protected_ it”

“Two years?” Harper mocked “this alien’s been here for over a decade, planning god know’s what. Two years is a coffee break for it”

“She’s saved my life more times than I can count,” Alex spat “she is the best, most honorable person that I know”

“It’s not a woman” Harper scoffed

“Colonel! Where are you taking the prisoner?!” Lane barked out

“Where it _belongs_ ,” Harper answered, he gestured for the Marines to keep going “and, Danvers, since you care so much, you’re next” he warned as they led Astra away…

 ****** \

“You were Director Inzeli’s right hand for the past two years,” Harper began as the technician finished attaching the polygraph to the laptop on the table “I’m surprised he kept you in the dark,” he commented as he sat down “or that you allowed yourself to be kept in the dark” he added

Alex nodded towards the polygraph

“Turn it on. Ask your questions. I’ve got nothing to hide” she told him, keeping her voice and body language steady, neutral, falling back on her training.

Harper smirked “We’ll see about that” he said as the laptop beeped

“Is your name ‘Alexandra Danvers’?” General Lane asked

“Alex, yes” I answered, the tech glanced at the laptop and nodded at Harper

“Did you know that Astra Inzeli was in fact an alien criminal when you were recruited?” he asked

“She’s not a criminal” Alex shook her head

“Answer the question, Agent Danvers” Lane stated firmly

“No,” Alex began slowly “I did not know that Astra Inzli was an alien _refugee_ when I was recruited by the DEO,” she explained “the woman who recruited me, the woman that I believed to be Astra Inzli, she saved my life…”

******

**Two years ago…**

_Alex took a breath as she leaned agisnt the railing of the balcony and looked out over the city, still amazed that right in the heart of the city was a top secret organization that hunted down aliens_

_“Lovely night,” she turned to see the woman, Astra Inzli, walk over to her “sometimes I look out over this view and I wonder how many people out there know that the world nearly comes to an end on almost-daily basis?”_

_“Not many, I’d imagine,” Alex scoffed, looking up at the stars “I use to watch the stars with my dad when I was a kid” she murmered_

_“Yes, I know” Astra nodded_

_“How well did you know him?” Alex wondered_

_“Not very, regrettably,” Astra sighed “in truth, I only knew him for a hours, but make no mistake, your father…you father was a good man. He gave his life for me, and that is a debt that I can never repay”_

_“But why me?” Alex asked_

_“Before your father died, he made me promise that I would look after you, that I would keep you safe,” Astra explained “for the past ten years, I’ve been watching you”_

_“Creepy”_

_“Hmm,” Astra smirked “nothing too invasive, I assure you,” she promised “but in that time, I’ve seen how his death affected you, how your grades have slipped, how your drinking has gotten worse, and I know that just last week you tried cocanine for the first time,” she turned to face Alex, those striking grey-green eyes boring into her own once more “you have a great potential, Alex,” she began “you can do so much good in this world if you put your mind to it. That’s why I recruited you, because we could use someone like you on our side, someone who’s a fighter, who doesn’t give up utill the battle’s won,” she smirked at Alex “what do you say?”_

_Alex slowly took a breah “Sign me up” she declared…_

******

“Astra Izeli, Astra In-Ze, or whatever you want to call her, gave me a home,” Alex stated firmly “a purpose in life. For these past two years, I have served under her with honor. And I am proud of that,” she glared at Lane and Harper “you’re the ones who should be ashamed of yourselves” she declared, noticing how Lane wouldn’t meet her eyes, and she wondered what Astra had said to him or what Lucy had said to him

“Well, that’s all very heartwarming,” Harper sneered “but that still doesn’t answer the million dollar question. Did you _know_ that Astra was an alien when you were recruited?”

“No” Alex stated, the technican glanced back at the laptop monitor and then nodded. Harper sighed

“Well, congratulations, Agent Danvers,” he began, clearly disappointed “the only thing you’re guilty of is being duped by the very creature you were meant to be hunting. Whichh makes you a terrible agent. But lucky for you not a criminal” he reached out and began to unstrap the sensors

“Wait,” Lane ordered, he stood up and glowered at Alex “I think you’re lying,” he growled out “I think she used your father’s memory as a lure, I think that you’re so blinded by a brief connection with your father that you’re willing to believe anything that she told you,” he straightened up “you’re under arrest”

******

“Hey!” Lucy stormed down the hall towards the group, Winn trailing behind “what the hell are you doing, Dad?” she demanded “where are you taking her?!”

“The same place we’re taking your friend,” Harper sneered smugly “project Cadmus”

“Projact Cadmus?” Lucy repeated, she watched in horror as Harper led Alex away

“Lucy…” Lane began, reaching for her

“Don’t,” she spat, yanking her arm away “you always talk about honor and heroism,” she began “but there is _no_ homor in what you’re doing”


	89. Coup d’état

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cadmus' plan is far more insidious than they imagined...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update!! I've resigned myself to the fact that this fic won't be ending until somewhere past one hundred chapters (sigh) oh, well. Enjoy :=)

******

“Lucy, Winn” Susan nodded at them in acknowledgement as the doors to the hologram room slid shut

“My father,” Lucy began as she paced “he—god—I’ve never seen him this…this… _paranoid_ before”

“Your father’s only doing what he thinks is right for his children,” Susan explained, she smirked bittersweetly “fathers are like that with their daughters,” she muttered “now, where did they take Alex and Astra, do you know?”

“Some place called ‘Project Cadmus’?” Winn spoke up “I did some digging and I can’t find any evidence of anything called that ever existing,” he frowned as Susan scowled “OK, I’m gussing it’s not a five star resort”

“No. No, its not,” Susan sighed “Cadmus is the reason that Superman won’t work with the government,” she explained as she ran a hand through her hair “put simply, if the DEO is a prison, then Cadmus is a dissection lab. They’re an experimental genetic engneering facility that goes back to long before Superman’s pod crashed down in Kansas. They treat aliens as nothing more than lab rats to be studied. They perform dissections, amputations, use experimental drugs, and that’s just what we know about”

“Why would they do that?” Winn wondered, looking ill

“Weaponiztion of alien abilities for military purposes, for one,” Ssuan answered “but they just call it ‘defense’.” she sneered

“What do they do to humans?” Lucy wondered

“I don’t know,” Susan admitted “nothing good, I’d imagine”

“OK, does Superman know where it is?” Winn asked

“No,” Susan shook her head “no one does, not even me. And believe me I’ve looked”

“Well, how are we going get them out?” Winn demanded

“Relax, Winn,” Susan snarled “I’ll find them”

“What can you do?” Winn asked. Susan smirked

“Did you ever wonder why Superman asked me to watch over Astra?” she asked, Winn blinked, his eyes suddenly widening

“Oh! So, so, you’re…?”

“He’s a Martian” Lucy explained

“’He?’” Winn echoed

“I’m a shapshifter” Susan explained

“So…you’re,” Winn frowned “I just gotta ask, are you like, you know, a little green man?”

Susan chuckled “Acutally, I’m a _big_ green man,” she replied, she turned to Lucy “both of you, keep General Lane occupied, I’ll get them out”

“J’onn,” Lucy tightly gripped Susan’s arm “be careful”

“Always” Susan nodded as she slowly tipped her head back, a firey haze surrounding her form as J’onn J’onzz shed his human form

“Awsome” Winn whispered. The Martian smiled

“ _ **I’ll see you soon, Mr. Schott**_ ” he promised, then he turned and phased through the wall…

******

The truck bounced slightly as it hit a bump in the road, the two SUVs escorting it keeping close as they followed it down a lonely streach of dark highway. Inside the truck, both Astra and Alex tugged on their restraints

“And when we get to Cadmus,” Harper continued his lengthy monologue “I’m going to find out how you can see through walls, what makes you bulletproof. You know, what makes you tick”

“You’re going to dissect me” Astra spat out bluntly

“Cadmus is not some…Area 51…house of horrors _Kryptonian_ ,” Harper sneered “it’s a _necessary_ place,” he proclaimed “a place where we can unlock secrets to save American lives, _human_ lives”

“So, you’re going to dissect her” Alex stated, Harper slowly turned to glower at her

“I’m protecting the world” he said, she scoffed

“You’re _pathetic_ ” she spat

“And you’re a traitor,” he shrugged “so get comfortable, agent Danvers, because you belong to Cadmus now” he proclaimed

“ _Sir,_ ” the radio at Harper’s hip crackled to life “ _we’ve got a boogy_ ”

“Take it out” Harper ordered. Alex and Astra both glanced at the stasis field generator in Harper’s hands and then at each other just as there was a loud crash from outside

“ _Sir! Boogy just took out our escort!_ ” there was a distant _bang_ and the truck wobbled

“Report!” Harper barked into the radio as the truck suddenly skidded to a stop

“ _Flat tire, sir!_ ” came the breathless response, followed by a burst of machine gun fire and several shouts and screams from the men outside as they were obviously attacked by something

Harper turned and glowered at Astra

“Well, don’t look at me,” she shrugged “I’m still chained to a bench”

“What did you do?!” he demnded as he stood up and marched over her, sidearm drawn “huh? Answer me!” she grunted as Harper suddenly swung the butt of his gun into her head “what are you planning, huh?” he demanded “some kind of rescue mission? More of your little ET friends? Well, good, we can always use more test subjects!”

“It must be hell inside that head of yours,” she commented “all that paranoia, how do you ever make friends?” Harper roughly grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head back, violently slamming her head into the wall

“Astra!” Alex lunged against her restraints as Harper placed the muzzle of his gun under her chin

“A dead body is just as good a live one” he warned

“All right! All right!” Astra growled, she sighed “I’ll tell you” Harper smirked and stepped back.

Astra smirked and promptly broke out of her chains

Harper staggered back, staring at the device in his hand “The stasis field…” he muttered

“…doesn’t work on Kryptonians” Astra said simply as she swiftly stood up and advanced on him, swiftly pinning him to the walk and crushing the stasis field generator under her heel as she relaved Harper of his sidearem. There was a metallic _snap_ and the doors to the truck swung open, J’onn J’onzz stepping inside. He glanced at the image of Astra pinning Harper to the wall and then turned to Alex

“ _ **Are you all right?**_ ” he asked

“I am now,” Alex sighed as J’onn bent down and easily snapped the cuffs off her “so,” Alex began as Astra handed her Harper’s sidearm and J’onn resumed Susan Vasquez’s form “this was your plan all along?”

“Not particularly,” Astra admitted “I _was_ planning on escaping, but they arrested you before I could,” she explained “they couldn’t hurt me, but they can hurt you, so…”

“You stayed,” Alex nodded; she gestured to Harper “what do we do with him?”

“I’ll handle him” J’onn answered as he gently nudged Astra aside

“You,” Harper twisted in a futile attempt to escape “you’re the Martian that Hank was looking for”

“Oh, aren’t you a smart one?” Astra mocked, she nodded at J’onn, who swiftly put a hand on Harper’s head

“Do it!” Harper spat out “do it, Martian!” he goaded “be a monster. Prove me right!”

“Oh, you’d like that wouldn’t you?” Astra hissed “make you a martyr? Maybe they’d make a movie out of your life story? Maybe they’ll even have a ‘Colonel Harper Day’ in your honor,” she shook her head in clear disgust “you really are pathetic,” she spat as J’onn’s eyes lit up “a word of advice, Colonel?” she said, seemingly indifferent to Harper’s terrifed expression “telepathic scans hurt _less_ if you don’t fight it” she said just as Harper groaned in clear pain.

Suddenly Susan let out a shout and tore herself away from Harper, flinging herself against the wall, gasping for breath

“J’onn!” Alex and Astra both lunged for her “are you OK?” Alex demanded

“I…uh, I saw into Harper’s mind,” Susan began “I saw…,” she blinked and shook her head, a growing expression of horror crossing her features “we need to get back to the DEO,” she said as she hurried outside “now!”

“What? Why?” Alex demanded as she and Astra followed her outside “J’onn, what did you see?” she asked

“No time,” Susan answered as he dropped his human form “ _ **we need to hurry**_ ” he said as he took off. Alex turned to Astra

“What the hell did he see?” she wondered

“Nothing good, I’d imagine,” Astra answered “we’d better do as he says” she remarked. Alex smirked humorlessly as she looped her arms around Astra’s neck

“Fly me to the moon” she muttered as they took off…

******

“Lucy,” General Lane began as he approached her, Lucy made no move to acknowledge him. Sighing, Lane pulled out a chair and sat down “fine, don’t answer me them, just listen. I am sorry,” he admitted “I am sorry that it came to this, I am sorry that you think so little of me”

“I don’t think little of you,” Lucy began “I think little of your methods,” she added as she turned to face him “the justice system exists for a _reason_ , you can not just arribraily arrest people and have them hauled off to secret government facilites without reasonable doubt. You have no evidence that Alex knew anything about Astra before she revealed herself, or any evidence that what happened to Alex was in any due to Astra’s actions,” she reached out and flicked the lapel of his dress jacket “that uniform stands for something, it stands for this country and its values. You can’t just… _throw_ those values away when they don’t suit you anymore or just because you don’t like them”

Lane opened his mouth as if to speak. But he never got the chance because, at that moment, the ceiling suddenly exploded in. He lunged, throwing Lucy to the ground and out of harms way as figures in black suddenly repeled down through the still smolding hole in the ceiling firing wildly as they began to shoot any person they saw

“Thanks,” Lucy grunted as she rolled sideways, loaded her gun and, using the operations table as cover, began to fire back “get down! Get down!” she barked as more figures in black repelled down to replace those that Lucy and a few agents had taken out. Glacing up at the hole in the ceiling, Lucy could see a helicopter hovering above the DEO…

******

“ _ **We’re too late**_ ” J’onn announced as he and Astra slowed to a stop near the DEO

“What the hell?” Alex exclained as she took in the image of an attack helicopter now hovering over the main part of the base and the distant sound of gunfire

“ _ **This was part of Cadmus’ plan.**_ ” J’onn explained “ _ **they have their people assult the DEO and pin the blame of Astra and her coconspirators**_ ”

“And then, while everyone in Washington is still reeling from the attack, they put people loyal to them in charge of the DEO,” Astra finished “it’s a good plan”

“Well, good plan or not, we’ve got to do something!” Alex exclaimed

“We will,” Astra swore “J’onn, take Alex and get her inside,” she ordered as she gently transferred Alex to J’onn “I’ll take out the chopper”

 ******

Down in Command, Lucy ducked and dodged bursts of gunfire as she sprinted for the armory, grabbing as many rifles as she could hold and hurriedly passing them out

“Go! Go!” she ordered as the agents set up a weak firing line behind the operations table. Ducking down next to Winn, Lucy glanced at him “you OK?” she asked

“Never better,” he answered shakily, yelping as a bullet whizzed by “OK! It was never like this at CatCo!” he proclaimed as he ducked down

“Here,” Lucy thrust a pistol into his hands “I know, I know,” she said quickly “but right now it shoot them or get shot ourselves.” she exclaimed as she popped up and squeezed off a few shots “damn it! They’re wearing body armor!” she snarled as one of the invaders rounded the table. Lucy turned; watching as Winn suddenly surged to his feet and fired. The wouldbe assailant yowled as the bullet tore into a weak spot in his body armor near the knee and fell to the ground groaning

“I got him” Winn said, amazed

“Yeah, you did,” Lucy nodded “not bad” she looked up at another crash; another part of the ceiling broke apart as J’onn J’onzz suddenly dropped down into the room, carrying Alex with him. Alex almost instantly lunged for one invader, quickly disarming him before grabbing him in a chokehold and then breaking his neck

“GET THE ALIEN!!!” one of them shouted as he trained his weapon on J’onn, firing. J’onn phased through the bullets and shot forward, soundingly backhanding him across the room. There was a sudden explosion and a burst of fire as the helicopter suddenly exploded, flaming pieces of wreackage falling down through the hole into Command

“Holy…!” Alex exclaimed as Astra suddenly landed, her clothes still burning. It took Alex a moment to figure out what had happened

Astra had taken out the chopper, all right

By flying straight through it

The Kryptonian lunged, shooting forward at superspeed, knocking one assalent aside and taking out another with a blast of heat vision, bullets harmlessly bouncing off her as she pinned one to the ground, snapping his neck with ease, before smoothly flowing her feet and gripping one of the survivors by the front of his flak jacket and lifting him up off the ground, holding him there for a moment, before she threw him away.

“Secure the prisoners!” Lane ordered as agents swiftly surrounded Astra and J’onn, guns drawn

“Well,” J’onn sighed as he shifted back into Susan Vasquez “guess my secret’s out”

“Uh, guys?” Winn called out “we’re being hacked!” he announced as the monitors flickered with static, lines of code rapidally scrolling down

“Can you stop it?” Alex asked

“I’m trying!” Winn answered as he began to frantically type “it’s a virus,” he reported “its jumping every firewall we have”

“What’s it targeting?” Astra asked as the computer chirped

“Oh no,” Alex breathed. She turned to face the others “the prisoner cells” she announced as an alarm began to blare

“ _Warning, containment override activated,_ ” the computer announced “ _cell power dampeners will deactivate in one minute_ ”

“What the hell are they doing?” Alex demanded

“Cleaning up,” Astra answered “tying up loose ends, what better way to distract attention from a coup then to stage a prison break?”

“Just what the hell is going on?!” General Lane demanded

“Well,” Astra sighed “this is what’s generally referred to as a ‘Coup d’état’,” she explained “a way for Project Cadmus’ to achive their goal of having a man on the inside of the DEO, And I gave it to them when I revealed myself”

“Project… _Cadmus?_ ” Lane repeated “it’s a myth” he scoffed

“Is it?” Astra asked “your friend Colonel Harper seemed quite sure of its existence. After all, he just tried to have myself and agent Danvers sent there”

“ _Prisoner release in…fifty seconds_ ” the computer announced as agents scrambled to reload and face the new threat

“I’m coming with you” Astra said simply

“You’re still under arrest” Lane snapped

“And you’re dead if you don’t allow me to help,” Astra countered “there are over one hundred prisoners in this facility, far more than you can take on”

“I’m not releasing you; you’re a threat to national security”

“General, we’re going to need all the help we can get” Alex reminded him as she loaded up the rifle in her hands

“She’s right,” Lucy nodded; she fixed her father with a hard stare “release her. Now” she ordered, a flicker of what could have been fatherly pride ghosted across Lane’s face as he turned towards Astra

“Take the _other cuff_ off of the Kryptonian” he ordered

“I got it. Thanks” Astra sneered as she easily snapped the remaining part of the handcuffs of

“What about her?” Lane asked, nodding towards Susan

“She’s also on our side,” Lucy nodded “this is J’onn J’onzz, the last son of Mars,” she introduced “Superman asked him to watch over Jeremiah Danvers when he was recruited by the DEO, and then asked him to watch over Astra after she took over”

Lane turned to stare first at Lucy and then at Astra

“You didn’t _really_ Superman was stupid did you?” Astra asked “that he wouldn’t have some sort of failsafe in place to prevent me from doing what you were afraid I would do?” she smirked and turned to J’onn as he shifted out of Susan’s form “let’s do it,” she nodded as the strike teams finished gearing up “Mr. Schott?” Winn turned “can you seal off the outer areas of the base? Bottleneck the prisoners?”

“Yeah,” Winn nodded, turning back towards the keys and imputing a few commands “OK, got it” he announced

“Good,” Astra nodded “seal off this room as well after we’re through, we can’t risk any of the prisoners finding our new skylights,” she nodded up at the two gaping holes in the ceiling. She turned to Alex “shall we?” she asked

“Let’s do it” Alex nodded as the strike team made their out of Command, a heavy bulkhead slamming place behind them, sealing Lucy, her father, and Winn on the other side

“Lucy?” Alex tapped her comm. “can you hear us?”

“ _Loud and clear,_ ” Lucy replied “ _you’ve got incoming_ ” she warned as the alarms blared again

“ _Prisoner release in…five…four…three…two…one_ ” the computer announced. There was a distant smashing sound and then a stampeding sound

“Here they come,” Astra announced as a horde of prisoners rounded the corner “ _ **FIRE!!**_ ”


	90. Prison Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The natives are revolting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINETY! Enjoy! :=)

******

As the strike team opened fire, most of the prisoners scattered, only one actually charged forward, Maxima, Queen of Almerac. The alien queen lunged for the team, only to stagger back as Astra hit her with a blast of freeze breath

“Early parole’s canceled!” the Kryptonian snarled. She shot forward in a burst of superspeed, delivering a hard punch to Maxima’s jaw, following it up with a knee to the gut. Finally, gripping Maxima by her hair, Astra swung her around and into a wall, knocking the alien monarch senseless “some queen,” Astra spat as she turned to the other prisoners, firing off a blast of heat vision at one who lunged at her “go! Move out!” she ordered as the strike team regrouped and opened fire again, pushing the prisoners back…

******

Meanwhile back in Command, Lucy frantically leaned over Winn’s shoulder while General Lane stood guard with an assult rifle

“Can’t you stop it?” she asked

“Hey, I’m trying, OK?” Winn retorted as he frantically typed “OK, it looks like the only prisoner that _hasn’t_ been released is…prisoner 5090” he reported

“That’s the White Martian,” Lucy realized “Cadmus isn’t stupid, they don’t want something that powerful on the loose” she turned at a loud, deep, booming _thump_ from the bulkhead sealing off Command from the rest of the base

“That didn’t sound good” Winn muttered

“No, it didn’t” Lucy agreed as _something_ began to pound its way through the bulkhead…

******

“J’ONN! I COULD SOME HELP OVER HERE!!” Alex yelled as she swung her rifle butt into the face of two, skinny, ghoul-like creatures. There was a whoosh and J’onn suddenly phased his hand through the chest of one of them, instantly both of them arched their backs, spasming before falling to the floor unconscious “thanks,” Alex panted out, she glanced at the two unconscious aliens “what’d you do anyway?” she wondered

“ _ **They’re Mirridorns,**_ ” J’onn nodded “ _ **they’re always born in pairs, rwins, what one twin feels, the other does as well**_ ” he explained

“Good to know,” Alex sighed as she reloaded “how many more are out there?”

“ _ **Too many**_ ” J’onn answered

Alex nodded grimly as she tapped her comm. “Astra, J’onn and I have cleared Corridors Five through Seven, Beta and Delta teams have cleared the surrounding corridors, but we still have hostiles in Corridors Eight, Nine, and Ten,” she reported “Astra?” she asked, frowing when her only response was static “Astra?” there was a crackle of static, a loud crash and then

“ _I’m a little busy at the moment!_ ” Astra panted out over the comm. “ _where are you?_ ”

“Level Two, Corridor Four” Alex replied

“ _Get back to Command,_ ” Astra ordered “ _the K’hund’s outside and wants to say ‘hi’ to Lucy and Winn_ ” she reported

“Copy that,” Alex loaded her rifle and looked up at J’onn “let’s move”

******

“Here!” General Lane handed a rilfe to Winn

“OK” Winn said slowly as he took the rifle, he jumped as the bulkhead shook in its frame

“This is going to get ugly” Lucy muttered

“Oh, yeah,” Winn nodded “yep, definitely not pretty,” he glanced at Lucy “hey,” he began “assuming we survive this, do you…want to have dinner with me?”

“You mean like on a date?” Lucy asked “a _real_ date?”

“Yeah”

“No,” Winn stared at her, and found himself grinning as she winked at him “I’d love to,” she said earnestly, turning back as the bulkhead buckled and twisted, the metal shriking and groaning protest as the K’hund tore through it, three more aliens following him in “FIRE!!!” Lucy bellowed as all three of them opened fire, the bullets harmlessly bouncing off the K’hun’s skin and only serving to make him angrier (if that was possible). Roaring, the K’hund lunged, knocking Lucy and Winn aside like ragdolls and turning his sights on General Lane

“You wish to fight me, Human?!” he taunted “you will _lose!_ ” he hissed as he easily tore the rifle out of Lane’s hands, breaking it in half like he was snapping a toothpick, before he easily knocked Lane to the ground

“Dad!” Lucy called out as she grappled with a sinewy cat-like alien while Winn dealt with two gremlin-like creatures, fending them off with blasts from a fire extinguisher. The K’hund loomed triumphantly over Lane, swinging up an arm, ready to cave in his skull with ease…

Suddenly a blast of heat vision struck him in the face. Roaring in pain, the K’hund staggered back as Astra suddenly swooped down, gripped him by the throat, and slammed in him into the floor. The Kryptonian turned to General Lane and simply held out a hand.

Still gasping for breath, Lane took her hand and allowed her to pull him upright 

“Are you all right?” Astra asked

“Yes,” Lane nodded, jumping at a loud bang, both he and Astra turned to see Winn now standing over the cat-like alien, who now lay on the floor groaning, holding the fire extinguisher. Turning back to Astra, Lane took a breath “you saved my life,” he said “thank you”

“Just doing my job” Astra shrugged as she turned and easily kicked one of the gremlin-like creatures away like a soccer ball

“Yes,” Lane muttered as he stared after her “you were, weren’t you?”

“Agent Danvers, report” Astra requested

“ _We’ve got most of the prisoners down, but at least one escaped that we know of, the rest we’ve got pinned down in Corridor A-5_ ” Alex replied

“Winn,” Astra called “can you block off Corridor A-5?”

“Yeah, on it,” Winn sprinted to the controls and frantically typed “got it” he announced as, on the screens, bulkheads slammed into place, sealing the rampaging mob of prisoners in

“Do you still have access to the HVAC system?” Astra asked

“Yeah, why?”

“Seal of the corridor and pump all the air out,” Astra ordered “we can keep them under sedation until we can put them back into their cells” she explained

“OK, now _that_ is a cool plan” Winn grinned as he entered the commands, an alarm began blaring as the computer beagn to pump the air out of Corridor A-5, the prisoners visably gasping for air as they began to slump over unconscious one by one. A loud crash from behind them made them all turn as a large, ogre-like creature charged into Command. Astra lunged, slamming into it at superspeed, growling the alien, recoved from the blow and knocked her back before grabbing her in a bear hug. Grunting, Astra flew up, slamming the alien into the ceiling before suddenly twisting and simply dropping down, the creature hitting the ground hard as she landed

“Are you all right?” Lucy asked as she rushed over

“I’m fine,” Astra dismissed “get this one into containment and get me an update on our progress”

“Yes, ma’am”

“Wow,” Winn commented, nodding towards the unconscious alien “he looked tough”

“She” Astra corrected as the comm. crackled again

“ _This agent Danvers,_ ” Alex called out “ _we have a code four, all clear, hostiles have been subdued_ ”

“Oh good,” Astra sighed as she sank down into a chair “because I think I’m about to pass out” she sighed…

******

********

Two hours

********

That was how long the whole prison break had lasted, two hours, and in that time only _one_ prisoner escaped, Leslie Willis, who had slithered into the control panel of her cell as soon as the power to the dampeners went off. Both Superman and Kara were out looking for her and for the meta-human that had attacked CatCo..

********

It wasn’t a perfect win, though, the DEO had lost a lot of good people in the malee, but Astra’s improvised plan had worked, most of the prisoners who had survived the initial counterattack and been trapped in Corridor A-5 had been too weak from lack of air to fight and had been easily subdued, with most of them now under heavy sedation while Winn dug through the guts of the DEO’s mainframe, trying to hunt down and eradicate every last scrap of the virus before they put the prisoners back in their cells.

********

Sighing, Alex rubbed at the back of her neck as she watched agents clean up the mess as she made her way to the infirmary, where she found Astra in one of the isolation labs laying on a gurney

********

“Hey” Alex mumbled, Astra looked over, smiling

********

“Hey” she greeted

********

“How are you feeling?” Alex asked

********

“Tired, sore,” the Kryptonian answered “the sun lamps are helping” she added, nodding towards the sun lamps that surrounded her bed now

********

Alex nodded as she gestured to Astra’s wrist “I’m sorry about those” she said, pointing to the handcuffs now securing Astra to the gurney

********

“Well, it’s not like I was planning on going anywhere,” Astra dismissed “besides,” she added as she slowly sat up “chains and shakles I deal with, losing you, on the other hand…”

********

“Yeah,” Alex nodded as she came over and sat down next to Astra on the gunnery. They both looked up at a knock at the door “General Lane” Alex acknolweded as he and Lucy stepped inside

********

“I’ve just spoken with the President,” he began “she’s indebted to you and your team, Agent Danvers, as am I, and she sees no evidence to indicate that you knew anything about General Astra before she revealed herself, therefore she is dismissing any charges against you” he explained

********

“Thank you, General” Alex nodded, as Lane turned to Astra

********

“The President is also aware of the remarkable courage that you showed today, Astra In-Ze,” he began “you could have fled, but instead you returned here and helped the DEO fend off an attempted assult and a prison break,” he smiled suddenly “in light of these events, as well as the continued threat of Fort Rozz and Non and Ursa, she’s decided to grant you a full pardon and reinstate you as Director of the DEO” he explained as two soliders came over and swiftly uncuffed her

********

“Thank you, General,” Astra replied as he offered his hand, which she easily took and shook “now, then,” she began as she hopped off the gunrey “we have a planet to save” she proclaimed…

********


	91. Lazarus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing is certain in life. Not even death. End of AU of "Manhunter"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINETY-ONE!!! Enjoy! :=)

******

Alex grunted as she tried to upright a fallen cabinet in what was _left_ of her lab. Pausing for breath she looked around and cringed as the mess the DEO had become. With Livewire still out there somewhere, Kara had yet to come in and Alex hadn’t had the guts to tell her sister just how bad the escape actually was, something which she would pay for no doubt. Sighing, she went back to trying to lift the cabinet

“Need a hand?”

Turning, Alex jumped in surprise

“J’onn!” she quickly stood up “are you all right?” she asked

“Never better,” the Matrian quipped, she nodded towards the two Marines in full camo standing outside “General Lane wants to question me, obviously, but before I go in I needed to talk to you first”

“Yeah, sure,” Alex nodded, giving the two Marines the stink eye as she looked around for somewhere to sit “uh…guess we’ll just have to stand” she muttered

“That’s fine,” Susan dismissed “look,” she began “back in that truck, when I saw into Harper’s mind, I saw something else, something…disturbing”

“Like what?” Alex asked, frowning at the haunted expression that suddenly clouded Susan’s features

“I saw…him” she whispered

“Who?” Alex asked, concerned at the growing expression of shock on Susan's face

“ _…Jeremiah_ ,” Susan whispered “at Project Cadmus,” she looked up at Alex “he’s alive,” she whispered, she gently gripped Alex by the shoulders “Alex, your Dad’s alive!”

******

“Alex, that’s impossible!” Astra exclaimed “I _saw_ him die! Right there in front of me!”

“I know, I know!” Alex nodded as she paced the length of the hologram room

“What else did J’onn say he saw?” Astra sighed

“Not much, it was all jumbled up apparently,” Alex explained “but he saw my father, _alive_ , at Cadmus,” she ran her hands through her hair “I don’t even know if what J’onn saw was current, it could be something that Harper saw years ago, but, if there’s even a chance, no matter how slim…”

“I know,” Astra nodded as she gently took Alex’s hands “we’ll get him back,” she promised “one way or another” she vowed...


	92. Worlds Finest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> United we stand, AU of "Worlds Finest"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter NINETY-TWO, also, instead of having this take place days or weeks after the last chapter, I'm having it take place the next day, it just makes it flow more easier in my view. Anyway, enjoy :=)

******

Kara landed with a grunt, tensing as she took in the _mess_ that Command had become. She glanced up at the two holes in the ceiling—one of which she had used to come in—and wondered just _what_ , exactly, had made them. Alex had mentioned that the prisoners had tried to escape when she’d called about Livewire escaping, but she hadn’t been real clear on the details. A sudden spike of fear ran through Kara as she thought about Astra. Did they think that she was responsible for this? Did the prisoners do something to her? Did General Lane do something to her?

“Supergirl”

Kara turned at the voice, gasping in relief at the sight of Astra herself standing there, free of guards and handcuffs

“You’re OK!” Kara gasped as she rushed forward and pulled her aunt into a firm hug

“Did you doubt that I wouldn’t be, little one?” Astra asked as she pulled away, a quiet whoosh made them both look up as Superman gently touched down

“Well,” he began as he looked around the room “this all seems perfectly…awful” 

“Here, this is practically a normal day at the office,” Astra quipped, smiling as she warmly shook his hand [it’s good to see you, Kal-El] she said in Kryptonese

[Likewise,] Superman replied in horribly accented Kryptonese “so,” he began in English “I take it that you’ve been granted a reprieve?”

“A full pardon, actually,” Alex answered as she came over “signed by the President herself”

“I’m impressed,” Superman commented “what changed her mind?”

“Well, generally, helping to put down a prison revolt tends to earn you brownie points with the White House” Astra explained

“Hey, where’s Vasquez?” Kara asked suddenly as she looked around the room

“Being questioned by General Lane,” Alex explained “during the prison break J’onn had to reveal himself as well…”

******

“What do I call you?” General Lane asked as he leaned forward across the table in the interrogation room, opposite him, still in the form of Susan Vasquez, sat J’onn Jonzz. Per Lucy’s request, the Martian wasn’t officaly under arrest, yet, but that could change depending on his answers

“My name is J’onn J’onzz” J’onn replied

“And who is ‘Susan Vasquez’?”

“No one, I picked her name out of the phonebook to be honest,” J’onn explained “and this form, this face,” he gestured to his borrowed face “is just something I chose at random, it’s not based on anyone living or dead”

“I see,” Lane nodded “why did you infiltrate the DEO?”

“Superman asked me to look after Jeremiah Danvers”

“Why?”

“Because Hank Henshaw blackmailed him into joining the DEO”

“Why would he do that?”

“Henshaw threatened Jeremiah’s family unless he turned over every piece of information he had on Superman” J’onn answered

“And Astra In-Ze?” Lane asked “how does she fit into all this?”

“After Jeremiah’s death, Superman asked me to keep an eye on her, to make sure that she was sincere in her promise of trying to reform the DEO”

“And if she wasn’t?” Lane asked “what you have done then?” Lane shivered slightly at the sudden darkness in the Martian’s eyes as she looked up at him

“The same thing that you would have done” was the grim answer

Clearing his throat, Lane returned to the questioning

“You also contend that Jeremiah Danvers was killed by Hank Henshaw?” he asked

“Yes. If I may be perfectly blunt, General, Hank Henshaw was a sorry excuse for man, I _know_ he killed Jeremiah”

“The DEO files make mention of aliens matching your description going back to at least the 1930s, are there more of your kind here?”

“No,” was the bitter answer “I’m the last of my people”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lane said and was surprised to find that he meant it “what will you do now that your existence is known?” he asked

“The same thing I’ve been doing for over three hundred years, protect the earth,” J’onn answered, he leaned forward “my planet burned, General, my people—my _famly_ \--are gone, I’m all that’s left, Mars is a crypt, I vowed that I won’t let that happen to another world. Whether its here at the DEO or on my own, I will protect this world from suffering the same fate as my own”

Lane slowly nodded

“I think,” he began “we can arrange that…”

******

“You’re letting him go?” Lucy asked as Susan quietly left the interrogation room

“You sound surprised” her father noted

“Well, I am,” Lucy admitted “what changed your mind?” she wondered

“You,” Lane answered honestly “you vouched for J’onn J’onzz, and Astra In-Ze, I may not have much faith or trust in them, but I have trust _you_ , Lucy. If you’re wiling to risk your career and your freedom for them, then there must be something about them that seperates them from the other aliens out there, something that makes them more like…him” he nodded to where Superman stood with Astra and Susan along with Kara and Alex

“They’re alike,” Lucy explained “all four of them, they were all born on diffent planets, but they’ve chosen Earth as their home, and they’re going to go on protecting it whether we like it or not”

“General Lane,” Astra beckoned him over “I think its time I level with you all about what Non and his army are planning” she said…


	93. Double Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra reveals what Myriad is, Kara and Superman set off after Livewire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINETY-THREE! Enjoy! :=)

******

“Mind control” General Lane repeated as they all gathered around the operations table, the box that Kara had stolen from Ursa during Non’s attack on the satellite farms now sitting in the center of the table

“Of a sort” Astra nodded

Lane turned to Superman

“And you knew about this?” he demanded

“General, I swear to you, this is the first I’m hearing of this” Superman replied, looking just as shocked

“So…I don’t understand,” Kara shook her head “how was _mind control_ supposed to ‘save’ Krypton?”

“Myriad doesn’t just turn people into mindless drones,” Astra explained “it leaves the creativity intact, people under the influence of the wave _can_ still think for themselves to a certain extant, what it means is if they are given an order, they will carry out that order, regardless of what it is, but they can still think creatively”

“So, if you ordered a person under the influence of Myriad to kill someone,” Alex began “they wouldn’t just chase after them like a zombie”

“No,” Astra confirmed “under Myriad a person would seek out the most efficient way to complete their orders. Now, getting back to Supergirl’s question, imagine if one hundred people under the control of Myriad were given a task to solve, one hundred minds working in perfect concert, no arguments, no disagreements, no workplace romances,” she gave Lucy and Winn a critical look at this “just one hundred people silently pooling their creatively towards a single, unified goal”

“Oh my god,” Winn exclaimed “it’s like a think tank,” he grinned “a bad one,” he added when everyone looked at him “very bad”

“Yes, very,” Astra nodded “now, multiply those one hundred people into an entire _city_ and you have Myriad, an entire city, indeed an entire _planet_ turned into a giant, living, breathing supercomputer”

“If Myriad is so dangerous, then way wasn’t it in the archives my parents sent with me?” Superman asked

“Because it could upset the balance of power,” Alex picked up “think about it, you won’t need to invade a planet anymore to conquer it, all you have to do is flip a switch and the whole planet surrenders”

“Exactly,” Astra nodded “which is why we have to destroy it”

“You _seriously_ expect us to believe that you went through all the trouble of creating this weapon and _now_ you want to destroy it?” Lane asked

“Yes, I do,” Astra replied simply “General, I had no idea that Non was planning on trying to recreate Myriad here on Earth, in fact I had no idea that he even survived seeing as how the last time I saw him in Fort Rozz I had my hands wrapped around his throat and was trying to wring his miserable little neck,” she sighed and pinched at the bridge of her nose “I’m not defending my actions, or even asking you to understand them, all I’m asking for is your help in destroying it”

“OK, wait,” Alex began “I’m guessing that Myriad wouldn’t affect Non or his army, I mean it’d be stupid if your own weapon worked on you too, so I’m guessing that means it wouldn’t affect you and Supergirl?”

“No,” Astra confirmed “in order for it to work the wave has to be calibrated to a specific neural pattern, in this case Humans, so it wouldn’t affect Kryptonians, or any alien really”

“So I wouldn’t be affected either” Susan reasoned

“You aren’t human, so no” Astra nodded

“OK,” Alex nodded “now what is this exactly anyway?” she tapped the box

“Basically it’s a transmitter,” Astra explained “on its own it only has a range of a few thousand feet, probably just enough to affect this base, but in conjunction with the five others and the satellites it could affect the whole of National City”

“So, since they don’t have it does that mean they can’t turn it on?” Winn wondered

“Sadly no,” Astra sighed “but it does mean that their plans have been delayed, if Supergirl hadn’t taken this from Ursa you all might be under the influence of Myriad right now” she explained

“How much time do we have?” Lucy wondered

“I don’t know,” Astra admitted “it could be anywhere to several months, to a few weeks or days, or it could even be only a few hours until the wave goes on-line”

“Well, that’s helpful” Superman sighed, Astra glowered at him but said nothing

“OK, so, this,” Alex tapped the box again “is a part of Myriad right? That means it uses the same technology, right?”

“Alex, what are you getting at?” Kara asked

“What if we use this?” Alex asked, nodding towards the box “if it uses the same technology then that means it probably operates on the same frequency, which means that—”

“…we could use it to block Myriad!” Winn exclaimed

“Exactly!” Alex nodded “if we can reverse engineer this, we could use it like a jamming device, block out the signal and keep the DEO from being affected”

“But if it only covers the DEO then that means that no one could leave,” Kara pointed out “you’d all be trapped in here”

“But at least it’d give us an opportunity to fight back!” Alex exclaimed “at the very least it could give us a chance to try and come up with smaller versions that we could issue to individual agents so that they could go out and fight”

“Humans,” Astra chuckled as she looked between Alex and Winn “so creative,” she smirked “agent Danvers work with agent Vasquez on reverse engineering the transmitter to create a countermeasure,” she ordered “in the meantime, agent Schott, that’s a ten trillion dollar computer system behind me, I’d like to see Livewire’s location on it”

“Got it” Winn nodded

“Agent Lane,” Astra turned to Lucy “I’d like you and your father to coordinate with Pentagon, we need to be able to block off access to National City if it comes down it”

“Understood” Lucy nodded, and then physically tugged on her father’s sleeve to get him moving

A fluttering sound made everyone suddenly stop and turn to stare at the pigeon now sitting on the operations table cooing. Slowly, they all looked up at the two holes in the ceiling, where a few more pigeons had gathered and were now peering down into Command curiously

“Second order of business,” Astra sighed “fix those goddamn holes!”

******

“Any luck?” Lucy asked as Alex shuffled back into Command and sank down in a chair with a tired groan

“Well, it took us about an hour just to get the casing open,” she began “then about _another_ hour to figure out what does what, so…no, not really”

“I was afraid of that” Lucy sighed as Alex reached out and took the coffee cup that Lucy had set down in front of her

“Hey, how’s James?” she asked “I was going to ask Kara but I keep forgetting

“He’s good,” Lucy nodded “he apparently got most of the people out when the meta-human first attacked, so only a few people got hurt”

“Good for him” Alex nodded

“We found Livewire!” Kara suddenly called out

“That was quick” Lucy commented as she and Alex hurried over

“Uh, hi, remember me?” Winn held up a hand and waved it for emphasis “I used an algorithm to track meter usage throughout the city and it looks like _somebody’s_ using a lot of power in this old, abandoned warehouse” he tapped a key and a map of the city appeared, a warehouse down in the old industrial park highlighted

“I’ll assemble a strike team” Astra nodded

“No, no time,” Kara shook her head “she’s too dangerous, if we wait we lose her, and if we lose her…” she trailed off, not needing to remind everyone of how dangerous Leslie Willis was

“Could we overload her somehow?” Superman asked

“Yeah what that industrial capacitor you were going to use last time?” Winn asked

“Nope, it went kaput” Kara shook her head

“Well, hey, come on,” Winn laughed “me and my Martian buddy here will build you a new one” he moved as if to pat Susan on the shoulder, only yelp as she gripped his wrist tightly

“Touch my shoulder, lose your hand” she warned

“Got it, got it!” Winn nodded

“Children,” Astra sighed “could we all focus on the task at hand, please?”

“OK, so here’s the plan,” Kara said as she turned to Superman “we stop the bad girl, put her back here where she can’t hurt anyone, eighty-five percent chance of punching”

“Sounds good,” Superman nodded, he grinned “up, up?” he asked

“And away” Kara grinned as they took off in two gusts of wind, sending down two showers of dust as they flew through the two holes still in the ceiling

“Would someone kindly fix those fucking holes?!” Astra barked out…


	94. Shockwave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Livewire and Silver Banshee were easy compared to this. End of AU of "Worlds Finest"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINETY-FOUR! Enjoy! :=)

******

“How’s the head?” Alex asked

“Fine,” Kara dismissed with a wince “I feel like there’s a church bell in between my ears, but I think I’m good. How’s Superman?”

“He’s resting in the iso lab,” Alex explained “the sun lamps should have him back on his feet in no time,” she gently slid a hand under Kara’s arm and helped her up off the gurny and onto her feet “in the meantime, Winn’s got something he thinks you should see” she explained…

******

“Hey!” Winn grinned as Kara sat down at the operations tatble “how’re you feeling?” he asked

“Better,” Kara grunted out “so, Alex said that you had something to show me?”

“Ah,” Winn held up sodiering iron “see, since both you and your cousin have superhearing, that sonic scream hit you guys pretty hard”

“Yeah, I know I was there” Kara muttered, Winn blushed

“Righ, sorry. Anyway, I came up with these” he held up a pair of forceps

“Are thoese…earbuds?” Kara asked

“Not just your ordinary earbuds,” Winn shook his head “no, these bad boys should cancel out that sonic scream and keep you and the big guy safe”

“OK, _that_ is cool” Kara grinned

“I thought so,” Winn nodded “so, what’s the story behind this girl? Why’d she attack CatCo?”

“She’s Siobhan Smythe” Kara shrugged

“OK, yeah, I have no idea who that is”

“Right,” Kara cringed “sorry, I keep forgetting that you don’t work there anymore. Uh, anyway, Ms. Grant hired her as another assistant, and after she found that security camera footage of Alex fighting the K’hund she tried to get Ms. Grant to publish it, Ms. Grant said no, and Sibohan tried to go over her head to Perry White”

“OK, so, she’s got superpowers and she’s stupid,” Winn nodded “that’s always a good combo,” he muttered, Kara giggled “what?” he asked, looking up “I say something funny?”

“No,” Kara shook her head “it’s just…working here, at the DEO, it…suits you” she explained

“Really?” Winn stammered out “you, you think so?”

“Yeah,” Kara nodded “you’re more confident now,” she explained “it’s a good look on you”

“Thanks” Winn beamed

“So, how are you and Lucy doing?” Kara wondered “I’ve been meaning to ask, but what with the red kryptonite and Cadmus…”

“We’re good,” Winn nodded “we’re going to go out to dinner tonight, hopefully”

“Hey, that’s great,” Kara grinned, she frowned, suddenly cringing “ooh, does Lucy’s father know about you two?”

“Yep,” Winn nodded “he gave me the whole ‘break my daughter’s heart and I’ll break your neck’ speech just before he left for Washington, which is really scary coming from a guy who probably has been trained to do just that”

“I’ll bet,” Kara agreed “hey, about you and Lucy, sorry I freaked out about it” she aplolgized

“Nah, its fine,” Winn chuckled “I’d probably do the same thing if I caught you and James”

“Oh! Don’t even say that!” Kara shuddered

“Although,” Winn began “speaking of dating…Alex and Astra?”

“I know!” Kara grinned “I mean, hey, I’m happy for them, but…wow!”

“How does that even work?” Winn wondered “I mean, they’re both technically related to you”

“Well, apparently,” Kara began “they were friends with benefits first”

“Ew”

“That’s what I said, and by the time Alex found out who Astra really was she’d already fallen in love with her”

“Whew,” Winn shook his head “what do you think they do on a date?” he wondered

“The same as you and agent Lane I’d imagine, Mr. Schott,” Winn and Kara both jumped as Astra suddenely ‘appeared’ behind them. She fixed them each with a hard look “and I’ll thank you not to gossip about me when I’m in the same room” she commented just as Lucy jogged over

“James just called,” she announced “Livewire and Silver Banshee just kidnapped Cat Grant” she reported

“Ma’am?” Susan looked over “localized electrical discharges at National City Park” she announced

“That’s got to be them” Lucy nodded

“Winn?” Kara asked, nodding towards the earbuds

“Almost…got it,” Winn held up the four earbuds “but they haven’t been tested yet” he objected as Kara grabbed two and stuffed one in each ear

“Then I guess we’l have to test them in the field,” Superman said as he walked over. He smiled at Kara “ready?” he asked

“Born ready” Kara grinned…

******

“ _In a remarkable display today, Supergirl teamed with her cousin to defeat the criminal known as ‘Livewire’ and her accomplence, saving the life of media mogul Cat Grant as well as thousands of innocent bystanders_ ”

“Something funny?” Astra asked as she approached Alex, who was snickering at the screens

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s just…,” Alex shook her head “the way they’re talking about it, they make it sound like Supergirl defeated Livewire and Silver Banshee all by herself”

“Are you complaining?” Astra asked

“No,” Alex snorted, she turned to Astra “hey, listen,” she began “do you want to have dinner with me tonight?” she asked

“That depends, are you cooking?”

“God, no,” Alex snorted “no, we’ll just order a pizza or some—” she stopped suddenly

“Alex?” Astra questioned, watching as Alex’s face went blank and she suddenly turned and marched out of the room, dozens of other agents, Winn and Lucy among them, following her. Watching this strange precession, Astra felt her stomouch drop away “oh no,” she whispered “not now” she pleaded, even though she knew what this meant, what this was

Myriad had begun…


	95. Myriad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Myriad has begun on Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINETY-FIVE! Enjoy! :=)

******

Astra turned at the quiet whoosh behind her

“I told them to fix those damn holes” she muttered as Non straightened up to his full height

“The son of Jor-El has already knelt before me,” he proclaimed “soon so shall you”

“You sound like a villain in a bad movie,” Astra commented as she leaned against the consoles “I suppose this is the part of the script where you boast about how victorious your plan is and that I have no hope of stopping it?”

“I don’t want to fight you Astra,” Non hissed “you’ve already lost,” he proclaimed as agents began to file back into Command, Alex among them, all of them sitting down at the terminals and beginning to type “look around you, see what your dream for Earth has become”

“This is not my dream for Earth” Astra snarled, tearing her eyes away from the macabre image of Alex’s blank expression

“This is what everyone wants, is it not?” Non countered “peace on earth and goodwill towards men”

“It looks a lot less like Christmas in here and more like _Dawn of the Dead,_ ” Astra spat out, she shook her head “god, you’re delusional”

“The human race finally has a chance to _live_ , or else it would suffer the fate of Krypton, you know this. And the same thing is happening here on Earth, with a populace more interested in reality stars and political circuses, then working together to solve the world’s problems”

“All right, so they’re vapid and self-absorbed, I’ll give you that,” Astra nodded “but they are _better_ than this, Non!” she spat. Non studied her for a long moment, his eyes hard

“Do not stand against me, Astra,” he warned “or everyone you know, care for, and love will _die_. I have already saved National City, next I will save the world”

“You really need to work on your dialogue,” Astra sighed “see, you’re missing the point, there is no throne, no crown, there is no _possible_ scenario in which this ends in your favor” she explained, Non chuckled

“I have an army” he warned

Astra smirked

“I have a Martian”

There was a sudden whoosh as J’onn J’onzz suddenly slammed into Non, knocking him off his feet. Turning, J’onn held out the stolen Myriad transmitter to Astra

“ _ **Finally figured it out,**_ ” he explained as Astra took it from him “ _ **get it into the communications system, I’ll deal with him**_ ”

“Understood, be careful,” Astra nodded, turning as a gunshot suddenly pierced the air, a bright bolt of green light whistling past her arm, a second shot rang out in rapid succession, narrowly missing her head. Snarling in frustration, Astra dove for cover, ducking behind a stack of heavy supply crates near Kara’s pod as Alex advanced on her, gun drawn, kryptonite bullets ricocheting off the crates “Alex! You have fight it! You have to wake up!” Astra yelled, ducking as more shots rang out, idly taking note of Non and J’onn’s fight taking place high above them.

She risked a glance out past her impromptu shielding, seeing that Alex was now calmly reloading, grunting, Astra sprung up and exhaled, an icy blast of freeze breath sent Alex to the floor. Shooting across the room at superspeed, Astra moved to open the panel on the communications console, bellowing out in pain as a familiar _burn_ suddenly tore into her left leg, the same leg that Henshaw had shot her in twelve years ago.

Struggling to stand, Astra turned to face Alex “you are _stronger_ than this, Alex,” she panted out, stamping down the nausea and icy burn of the kryptonite “you can beat this; you’re not going to kill me. Alex, we are _more_ than just lovers, we are _more_ than just friends with benefits, we are a _family_ , stronger together,” she could see the doubt on Alex’s face, the loosing grip on the gun in her hand “Alex, you’re the strongest of us all. Your father told me that you were tough, I know he’d be so proud of you, I know that he’s out there, somewhere, waiting for you, for _us_ , to find him, to bring him home. So you honor him now, you fight back, you _win_!”

Alex suddenly jerked as if waking from a nightmare. She looked around, confused, before her eyes settled on Astra

“Astra?” she looked down at her hands, jerking at the sight of the gun in her hands, her face going pale at the sight of the bullet wound in Astra’s leg “oh, god, I—”

“I know. Apologize later,” Astra panted out “where’s Non?” she demanded

“Non?” Alex blinked and looked around, seeing only J’onn staggering to his feet “gone” she reported as J’onn shifted back into Susan Vasquez’s form

“Good,” Astra panted out as she painfully wrenched the bullet out of her leg and threw it away “help me get this working”

“Yeah, yeah” still looking stunned, Alex crouched down next to Astra and steadied her as the Kryptonian ripped open the panel and slid the transmitter inside, the boxy device instantly shimmering and disappearing into the circuitry. There was a sudden whoosh and something collided with them, throwing them both in opposite directions

“I’m really getting tired of this,” Astra spat out as a blank-faced Superman loomed over her. Grunting, Astra staggered to her feet and studied Superman as he stood before her “shall we dance?” she quipped as Superman lunged, swinging out a fist, which Astra easily dodged, grabbing a handful of Superman’s cape and swinging he around and up into the ceiling…

Over by the communications console, Alex quickly staggered to her feet and scowled at the symbols still scrolling down the screen, looking left and right revealed Winn and Lucy still mindlessly typing away, unaware of anything going on around them

“We got the transmitter, so why isn’t it working?” she demanded

“It’s not that simple,” Susan explained as she frantically typed “we need recalibrate the signal to our own equipment and our own satellites and then piggy-back it off of Myriad without any of Non’s troops noticing,” both of them grunted at a loud crash, turning back to see Astra and Superman brawl across half of Command, demolishing half of the room in the process “which would be a lot easier if I didn’t have all this noise” the Martian grumbled as she turned back to the controls.

Alex, meanwhile stood stock-still, rooted to the spot, unable to take her eyes off the image of Superman repeatedly slamming Astra’s head into the floor, before Astra suddenly caught Superman’s fist and pushed him off her, catching him across the face with a hard right, then a punch to the gut, before finally sweeping his legs out from under him and smashing her fist down on his face, knocking him out. Panting for breath, Astra straightened up and gave Alex a weak smile

“You don’t know how long I’ve been _waiting_ to do that” she chuckled weakly

“Got it!” Susan exclaimed, suddenly Lucy and Winn both gasped and jerked, looking around in confusion as other agents repeated the process

“Nicely done,” Astra panted out as she shuffled over and sank into a chair with a groan “oh, I must either be getting old or out of shape,” she remarked as she gave Alex another weak smile “it wasn’t this hard when I was fighting superpowered you”

Alex snorted out a half laugh

“Hate to break up this celebration,” Susan began “but you’ve got a phone call” she tapped a key and familiar face appeared on the monitors

“General Lane” Astra nodded in acknowledgement

“ _How’s Lucy?_ ” Lane asked immediately

“I’m right here, Dad” Lucy stood up, Lane looked visibly relieved

“ _I see that you found a way to counteract Myriad_ ” he remarked

“Only here at the DEO,” Astra explained “General, what’s your status?” she asked

“ _We’ve established a blockade at every entrance way to National City,_ ” Lane explained “ _until this threat is neutralized, National City is effectively under quarantine, nothing in or out, that includes you and members of your team, Director_ ”

“That’s fine,” Astra nodded “you need to keep everyone outside of city limits until my team can fix this mess,” she instructed, she sighed “I know that, after recent events, you have no reason to trust me, but…”

“ _I’ll do my part,_ ” Lane nodded “ _I trust you’ll do yours. Good luck_ ”

“Likewise,” Astra nodded “General,” she called out as Lane began to turn away from the screen “your daughter is in good hands, that I promise you”

Lane nodded firmly

“ _Understood. Out_ ” the screens flickered as he cut the connection

“All right,” Astra sighed “agent Danvers, J’onn, get started on manufacturing a portable version of our jamming signal, I would like to go outside at some point, agent Schott work with them on that”

“Copy that” Alex nodded, leading Susan and a still dazed-looking Winn out of the room

“Agent Lane?” Astra asked

“Ma’am?” Lucy asked, Astra sighed and pointed towards Superman’s limp and unconscious form

“Get him out of here” she ordered as Kara landed behind them, a look of relief crossing her face…


	96. War Drums

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sound the drums of war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter NINETY-SIX! Enjoy! :=)

******

“Kara,” Astra swiftly pulled Kara into a hug “are you all right?” she asked

“I’m fine” Kara answered shakily as Astra pulled back

“Liar,” Astra accused “what happened?”

“Ursa happened,” Kara spat as Astra guided her down to a chair “she showed up at CatCo, after everyone had been…taken over. She started this whole speech about how this was better for humanity, and then she…,” she took a harsh breath “she forced James, Ms. Grant, and Kelly to…to….jump off the balcony”

“Kara…” Astra began, but Kara continued in a frantic rush

“I caught James and Ms. Grant, but…I couldn’t catch Kelly”

“Oh, little one,” Astra pulled her close, glaring at the few agents who gawked at such an open display of affection “listen to me,” she encouraged “that death was not your fault, all right? It was Ursa and Ursa’s alone, and I promise you that she _will_ pay for her crimes”

Kara shakily nodded, glancing back at where Lucy and a team of medics were loading the unconscious Superman onto a stretcher, he twitched slightly, moaning, but otherwise didn’t move as the stretcher was carried out

“What happened to him?” Kara asked, sounding a bit more focused

“I did,” Astra sighed “he was affected by Myriad, I was forced to knock him out. Which, incidentally, was surprisingly easy to do, so I guess he’s not as ‘super’ as most people think,” Kara snorted out a half laugh “there we are,” Astra smirked “there’s a smile” she praised softly

“So, wait,” Kara began “if Myriad only affects Humans then why was he affected?”

“I suspect it’s nature versus nurture,” Astra shrugged “he was a raised among Humans, raised _as_ Human, he still thinks of himself with Human limitations,” she explained, she smirked “ironic, the ‘Man of Steel’ brought to his knees all because he went to kindergarten and watched _’Sesame Street’_.”

“Yeah, but if it’s affecting him too, then we’re in trouble,” Kara began “that means that we have one less person to help us and one more person on their side”

“That’s why I’m having Alex and Mr. Schott working on a portable version of our jamming signal,” Astra explained “if we can develop a small, wearable version, then we could all protect ourselves from the wave”

“How long’s that going to take?” Kara wondered, Astra shrugged

“I don’t know" she admitted

“Director,” an agent called out “call for you, ma'am, it’s General Lane”

“Let’s see it,” Astra sighed as the screens flickered and General Lane’s face appeared once more “General”

“ _Director,_ ” General Lane acknowledged “ _I have some rather disturbing information_ ” he announced

“After what we just went through, I’m afraid that you’ll have to be more specific, General” Astra sighed

Lane sighed and turned the camera to his right. Both Kara and Astra gapped at what they saw

“ _Well, Supergirl, how nice to see you again_ ” Maxwell Lord grinned as he stood between two armed Marines 

“General,” Astra began as Lane turned the camera back to face him “please tell me that this is some kind of sick joke?”

“ _I’m afraid not,_ ” Lane sighed “ _Mr. Lord claims that he not only has a way to shield people from the wave, but also a weapon which could defeat the Kryptonians_ ”

“And let me guess,” Astra sighed “he’ll give it to us for a very fair price” she sneered

“ _Something like that,_ ” Lane chuckled, clearly just as upset about this as she was “ _he’s offering this technology in exchange for a reduced sentience_ ”

“ _How_ reduced?” Astra asked

“ _Six months_ ” Max answered, leaning into view of the camera, Lane grunted and shoved him away

“ _Hold him!_ ” he ordered, as he turned back to Astra 

“General, you cannot seriously be considering this” Kara demanded

“ _It’s out of my hands, unfortunately,_ ” Lane sighed “ _as much as I dislike the idea of trusting civilian contractor, especially one with seven murder counts against him, I’m afraid that the President and her cabinet think differently. I’ve been ordered to escort him to the DEO and hear what he has to say_ ”

“Charming,” Astra drawled, she sighed “I’ll have Supergirl escort you and him back to the DEO. Out”

“You can’t be serious?” Kara gapped as the screens went blank

“I’m afraid not,” Astra sighed “go to General Lane’s base camp and escort him and Maxwell Lord to the DEO” she ordered…


	97. Strange Bedfellows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> War makes strange bedfellows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy! :=)

******

“Maxwell Lord?!” Alex demanded “seriously?” she turned to Winn “can you believe this?!” he opened his mouth as if to speak but never got the chance as Alex whirled back to face Astra “I don’t fucking believe it!” she snarled

“Alex, I don’t like it anymore than you do,” Astra sighed “but I’ve already spoken to the President directly”

“And?”

“She was overruled by Congress,” Astra sighed “both the Senate and the House want a, and I’m quoting here, _‘an American involved in the decision making process’_.”

“God,” Alex spat “you know they’re only doing this because you’re an alien, you know that right?”

“I do,” Astra nodded “but, ultimately it works in my favor, because if I can show them that I’m a team player, then they’ll be more likely to trust me in the long run”

“Here’s hoping” Alex sighed as a gust of wind made them look up as Supergirl landed in the middle of room, carrying General Lane and Maxwell Lord

“You’re late” Astra noted

“Sorry,” Kara apologized “took the long way around, outside of city limits” she explained

“General Lane,” Astra acknowledged “I take it that you’re unaffected by Myriad?” she asked, General Lane nodded

“It would appear that Mr. Lord’s technology works,” he explained, he gestured to his ear, where a small, Bluetooth-like device now rested “he gave me this as a…proof of concept” he explained

“Ion blockers,” Max spoke up “I figured that the Kryptonians were using my LTE network to piggyback the signal off, beaming it directly into the minds of everyone in National City, these,” he gestured to the device “scramble the signal before it reaches the brain”

“Prisoners aren’t allowed to have personal possessions,” Astra noted “so how did you avoid the wave?” she asked

Max smirked and gestured to his ear

“See the scar?” he asked, pointing to scar just above his ear, where there was clearly something implanted under the skin. Astra smirked

“Hmm,” she chuckled “ion blockers implanted directly under the skin, I take it?” she chuckled “it’s a shame the surgeon didn’t miss his mark” she remarked. To his credit, Max merely smirked back in response as he looked around Command

“So this is the DEO, huh? A lot more….stalactite chic than I imagined”

“What’s in the box?” Astra drawled, nodding towards the small rectangular case that Kara held

“Well, I figured it’d be rude if I came to the party without a gift,” Max said as he opened it, revealing three ion blockers nestled neatly inside “three ion blockers, all set and in perfect working order. Consider these a goodwill gesture”

“Agent Danvers, agent Schott,” Astra took two of the devices and handed them to Alex and Winn, who both awkwardly put them on “agent Lane, escort Mr. Lord to the lab, and _watch_ him carefully”

“Will do” Lucy grumbled as she took Lord’s arm

“Well, look at this,” Max chuckled “all the family, eh, General?”

In a blur of motion, Lane suddenly lunged, pinning Lord to the operations table, arm braced against the other man’s throat

“If you lay a finger-- _one finger_ \--on my daughter, if you even _look_ at her for too long, I will make you regret it!” he hissed

“General Lane! That’s enough!” Astra growled as she easily pried Lane off Max “Maxwell Lord is many things,” she began “but, most of all, he’s a survivor, he knows that incurring your wrath is not in his best interests. Now sit down before I have to have you placed under arrest!”

Still panting harshly, Lane glowered at Max before tearing his arm out of Astra’s grip and stalking off, Lucy hurrying to follow

“Thanks for the assist” Max panted out as he rubbed his throat. Astra turned to face him

“If anyone on my team is endangered as a direct result of your actions you and I are going to have a talk. _Alone_ ,” she hissed “agent Vasquez!” she barked “get him to the lab and post an armed guard. If he so much as procrastinates, shoot him”

“Yes, ma’am,” Susan roughly hauled Max to his feet “let’s go” she ordered, marching him out of the room.

Astra sighed as Alex approached her

“I know, I know,” the Kryptonian sighed “you told me so…”

******

Several hours later and night had fallen over the city, the hole the ceiling had finally been repaired, much to Astra’s relief, and the Myriad wave was still strong, still holding a grip over the city. According to reports from General Lane’s base camp, the wave didn’t seem to be expanding, but it didn’t seem to be weakening either

Astra was still staring at the Kryptonian symbols scrolling down the screens, when she heard Alex softly approach

“Anything?” she asked quietly

“Well,” Alex began “we can’t reproduce Max’s technology, at least not in time, so it looks like we’re limited to the three that we already have”

“Four” Astra corrected

“I’m not counting Max,” Alex vowed “do you have an idea?”

“Yes, but you’re not going to like it”

“Well, it looks like we may not have a choice,” Alex pointed out “so, what’s the idea?”

Astra sighed

“A bomb,” she answered grimly “filled with kryptonite dust. We detonate it over the city center, it irradiates the whole city, killing every Kryptonian within city limits. Eventually, the winds will carry the dust around the world, irradiating the whole atmosphere, making the planet uninhabitable for Kryptonians”

“Including you and Kara” Alex pointed out

“I didn’t say it was an easy plan!” Astra hissed “but, like you said, we may not have a choice. You and I both know that Non and Ursa will not be content with ‘just’ National City, they won’t be content until the whole planet is on its knees. I am not about to let that happen, Alex”

“All right, all right,” Alex shook her head “let’s say that we go ahead with this plan, then what? What about the Humans in the city?”

“The concussive force necessary to properly disperse the dust would be result in…minimal causalities”

“ _How_ ‘minimal’?”

“Roughly eight percent of the population”

“Eight per…! Astra, that is over _three hundred thousand_ people”

“I know, I know!” Astra groaned “I don’t like it any more than you do, but this is _war_ , Alex”

“What, what if we force Non and Ursa to surrender?” Alex suggested “mutually assured destruction; we tell them we have this weapon and force them to back down”

“I can’t believe that you’re that naïve,” Astra scoffed “they don’t care if we blow ourselves up, in fact they’ll probably encourage us to the push the button, it’ll save them the trouble” she stopped and frowned as the monitors suddenly began flickering, a familiar swarm of blue pixels filling the screen before swirling out into the air, forming into a familiar figure…


	98. Blue Funk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! Chapter NINETY-EIGHT! (yeah, this puppy won't be put to bed until sometime after one hundred chapters, oh well, enjoy regardless)

******

Within seconds of emerging from the monitors, Indigo somersaulted across the floor, disabling two agents with ease, before breaking the neck of a third, even as the others all opened fire, the bullets sinking into Indigo’s skin without effect. Finally, flowing to her feet, Indigo spun and grinned

“Hello, Astra,” she purred, she held up her hand, a small pile of perfectly intact bullets rising out of her palm to clatter on the floor “nice try” she chuckled

“Didn’t we kill you?” Astra quipped

“No, just gave me a case of the sniffles,” Indigo smirked, as she turned to look at Susan, who had burst into the room with Winn and Lucy at the commotion, although Kara was strangely absent, Alex noted “look at you,” Indigo sighed as she looked Susan up and down “the last Green Martian,” she chuckled “remarkable,” she hissed as she slowly approached Susan “all of your people dead and burned, but yet, you alone survived. I wonder,” she mused “was it luck? Or was it cowardice?”

With a snarl Susan suddenly phased through the Coluan, knocking her to the ground

“ _Nobody calls me a coward!!_ ” she growled. Seizing Indigo by the ankle, she suddenly flung her up and into a bank of compuer equipment, sending up a shower of sparks as the equipment burst into flames

“Steady!” Astra called out “that won’t hurt her” she noted grimly, even as a swarm of blue swiftly emegered out of the flames, forming into Indigo as she marched out of the fire. Throwing one arm out, she sent the limb coiling forward, the end of the whip-like appendage swiftly stabbing into Susan’s abdomen, pinning the Martian against the operation’s table, even as agents opened fire again. Turning to look at them with an air of annoyance, Inidgo streached out her other arm, swiftly impaling one unfortunate agent and stabbing at part of the control panels

“That’s the commuations panel!” Winn suddenly yelped as the attacking agents suddenly all dropped their weapons with a clatter, their faces blank

“The jamming signal” Lucy realized as Indigo suddenly _twisted_ the weapon still embedded in Susan’s body before wrenching it free. As Alex watched, Susan stuggled to stand beforw she suddenly sank to her knees, a familiar firey haze surrounding her as J’onn lost control over his human form, before suddenly collapsing to the floor, his breathing shallow

“Endagered, and now extinct,” Indigo sighed “and you’re next, Humans,” she gloated, she suddenly screamed as a blast of heat visison knocked her back. Alex and Lucy turned to see Astra suddenly pounce on her, but Indigo swiftly rolled to the side and delivered a hard punch that sent Astra carrneeing across the room. Smirking, Indigo suddenly shot over behind Alex in a blur of superspeed-like motion. Spining, Alex and Lucy both froze at the image of Indigo now holding Winn by the throat

“Stand down!” she ordered, she held up he free hand, the index finger changing to a sharp looking blade. She placed the tip at Winn’s forehead “or I _scrape_ his brain from his skull!” she warned

“Shoot!” Winn choked out, gagging as Indigo tightened her grip, grinning at him madly

“I remember you,” she hissed, pressing the blade closer, a tiny bead of blood welling up from the skin on Winn’s head “I’m going to _savor_ this!” she hissed. There was a sudden whoosh as a black blur suddenly slammed into her, tearing her away from Winn

“Are you all right?!” Lucy demanded as she and Alex rushed to his side. He weakly nodded. Turning back to watch as Astra and Indigo grappled, Alex could only watch, horrified, as Indigo suddenly contorted her body in an impossible pose and swiftly pinned Astra to the floor, one hand wrapped around her throat, the other formed into a blade

“It’s time for you to join your sister, Astra!” she hissed. But suddenly something grabbed her legs, pulling her off Astra. Looking over, Alex saw a still-weak looking J’onn holding onto Indigo’s legs, even as she kicked and lunged for Astra. Grunting, Astra rolled to her feet and grabbed Inigo’s failing arms and held her in an modified half nelson. Locking eyes with J’onn, she nodded grimly

“Pull!” she ordered, Indigo kicked and screamed as the two aliens began pulling in opposite directions, swiftly tearing her half in a shower of blue pixels. With Indigo now dispatched, Astra rushed to J’onn’s side “are you all right?” she asked as she helped him to his feet. Wincing, he held a hand to his wounded side, a familiar haze of red surrounding it

“ _ **I will be**_ ” he declared

“Alex?” Astra turned and rushed over to where she, Winn, and Lucy were huddled

“We’re good” Alex groaned as she staggered to her feet, pulling Winn up with her

“Yeah, speak for yourself,” he muttered, he glanced at where Indigo now lay in two separate halves “remind me to never piss off either of you” he decided

“I will” Astra chuckled; she sighed as she looked around the room. With the jamming signal now out of commission, the other agents had resumed their places typing away at the controls

“Now what?” Winn sighed

“We take the fight to them” Alex declaired

“How?” Winn asked “we don’t even know where they are”

“Yes we do,” Astra declared “five hundred miles northest of here, in Nevada”

“You think you won?” they all turned to see Indigo looking up weakly, the two halves of her body twitching “this is only the beginning” she gloated

“Not for you,” Astra declared as she slowly approached the fallen Coluan. Rasing a leg she calmly pressed her boot down on Indigo’s head, crushing it with ease. Turning away from the now-hopefully-dead Coluan, she nodded at Alex and Lucy

“Get J’onn to the infimery,” she ordered “agent Schott work with Max on reproducing those ion blockers," she ordered "Lucy? Clean _that_ up” she added, glowering at Inddigo’s remains, as Kara suddenly swooped into the room, looking haggared

“Are you all right?” Alex asked, Kara shook her head, turning as Superman suddenly staggered in after her, he wobbled before collapsing again

“So much for being ‘super’.” Astra muttered…


	99. Battle Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're taking the fight to Non

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quadruple update! Chapter NINETY-NINE!! Enjoy! :=)

******

“How is it that Non was able to use Superman as a puppet with the jamming signal in place?” General Lane asked as he and Astra watched Superman—who was now out of the grip of Myriad—talk with Kara while Alex examined him

“I’m not really sure,” Astra admitted “theroretically; you could isolate a specific individual and focus the wave on them in the form of narrow beam, which might have been able to bypass the jamming signal”

“If you knew that was possible, then why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because I didn’t know it was possible,” Astra ground out “I said ‘theroretically’, I never said that Myriad was intended to be usef for that purpose” she pointed out as Kara swiftly came out of the isolation lab

“So, good news is, it looks like Superman isn’t under the effects of Myirad anymore, bad news, everyone else besides us is”

“Well, we might have a plan” Astra began

“Yeah, Alex mentioned that,” Kara nodded “what the hell is in Nevada?”

“It’s Fort Rozz” General Lane answered

“What? You just…left there?” Kara asked

“You try moving a one million ton alien spacecraft,” Lane soffed “we did the only thing we could do, we conceled the prison using its own stealth technology and coordined off the area, called it a nuclear test zone”

“Making it the perfect place to hide,” Astra picked up “they’ve probably been there this whole time, at least Non and Ursa have. I always suspected it, but I wasn’t sure until they held me hostiage,” she snirked “you tend to recognize the inside of your former prison very easily”

“So, what are we going to do?” Kara asked

“We have a plan”

“Let me guess, kryptonite,” they all turned to see Superman walk out of the isolation lab, Alex behind “that’s your solution to everything isn’t?” he scoffed

“Without it we wouldn’t even stand a chance against Non and Ursa,” Astra pointed out “or do I need to remind you that we’re currently facing a threat that not even the Man of Steel could withstand?”

“And what about Supergirl?” he asked “what if she gets caught in the crossfire? What then? I warned you before, Astra, I told you to destroy it, it could hurt or kill Supergirl or me”

“It could also hurt or kill me,” Astra pointed out “or did that not cross your mind?” she turned to Alex “agent Danvers, work with agent Lane on preparing the bomb” she ordered

“Wait, we’re not done here” Superman reached out and grabbed Astra’s arm when she turned to leave

Alex gulped. So did Kara. Even General Lane gulped.

Astra slowly looked down at the hand on her arm and then back up at Superman

“Take your hand off of my arm or I swear that you will be pulling back a stump” she warned

Superman pulled his arm away “If you cared for your neice at all—” he began

“If _I_ cared?” Astra demanded “what about you, Kal-El? You just threw her away, abandoned her with a group of strangers, you had no garuntees that they could’ve rasied her properly, that they could have taught her how to control her powers, that they could keep her safe!”

“And how is that different from what you did?” he demanded “you knew where she was, you’ve known practically since the day Jeremiah died, so why didn’t you take her in? Why didn’t you be a part of her life?”

“That’s different” Astra hissed

“Really? How?”

“OK!” Alex planted herself between the two Kryptonians “we can argue later, right now we need to figure out a way to stop Myraid”

“What do you suggest?” Astra asked

“We use a small team, and send them in to shut Myriad down from the inside” Alex explained

“Well, we’re in luck because all we _have_ is a small team,” Astra snorted, she smirked “get Lucy and Winn,” she ordered “but,” she leveled Superman with a glare “I want the bomb ready as a stopgap measure, in case we fail”

“Maybe we don’t even need the bomb,” Alex suggested with a frown “when I was under the influence of Myraid, it was like I was stanger to myself, I could see, I could hear, but it was like I didn’t care. And then, you said something about my father and suddenly I feel,” her frown deepened “I’m going to try something,” she announced and before anyone could stop her she reached up and slipped the ion blocker off. She blinked once, twice “nothing’s happening” she announced

“What?” Astra demanded “Alex, how do you feel?” she asked

“Normal,” Alex shrugged “perfectly normal”

“That’s it,” Kara exclaimed, grinning “I know how to stop it!”

******

“So,” Lucy began “Supergirl’s plan is to broadcast a…symbol?” she asked as they all gathered around the operations table, the dozens or so other agents who were not currently immune to Myriad’s effects remained where they were, typing away

“Of hope” Kara picked up

“Of hope” Lucy repeated, sharing a confused look with her father

“And a speech” Kara added

“A speech?” General Lane echoed, confusion clearly growing

“Yes, General,” Astra smirked “a speech, one powerful enough to wake people up out of this spell,” she pulled out a satellite map and spread it out on the table, a large red circle indicating Fort Rozz’s location “we attack on two fronts,” she began “Supergirl will stay behind here in National City with agent Lane, her father, and Max, they’ll work on getting a message out to the people. Meanwhile, Agent Danvers, Agent Schott, and myself will sneak into Fort Rozz and shut down Myriad from the inside, or barring that, use their own signal against them by piggybacking Supergirl’s broadcast onto the wave itself”

“So, wait, you’re taking us into a prison full of aliens who want to kill us?” Winn asked

“We need someone to shut down that signal, Winn,” Astra explained “and right now there’s no one I trust more to do that than you”

“No pressure” Lucy chuckled

“Now,” Astra pulled out a photo of what looked like an old TV station “this is the old KWZY station, it was closed down years ago, but as far as we know its equipment is operable. Supergirl, you, General Lane, and Max will use the equipment there to send the signal”

“Why there?” Kara asked

“Because it’s old,” Max picked up “pre-digital, we can piggyback our signal and let it ride the wave without anyone noticing” he explained

“Take that Indigo” Kara grinned

“General Lane,” Astra began “I’m entrusting my niece’s safety to you, don’t let me down, and make sure Max behaves himself”

“Understood” Lane nodded

“Lucy,” Astra tuned to Lucy “I want you to stay here at the DEO, coordinate our efforts both at Fort Rozz and here”

“Got it”

“Superman, you’re on point,” Astra declared “they’ll probably try to assult the DEO first, so hang around here,” she glanced around the table at them all one by one “good luck to all you, I mean that,” she said “now, any questions?”

“Just one,” they turned at the new voice “why wasn’t I invited to this party?” Susan asked as she walked in

“You’re still hurt” Alex pointed out

“Nothing that won’t heal,” the Martian dismissed “besides,” she smirked “sounds like you could use some Martian manpower”

Astra chuckled

“J’onn J’onzz will join myself and agents Danvers and Schott,” she announced “the rest of the plan remains the same, clear?” they all nodded “all right, people, let’s go save the world”

******

The sun was just peaking over the horizon when they landed at Fort Rozz, Astra carried Alex, while J’onn carried Winn. All four of them dressed in full tactical gear

“OK, that was kind of fun,” Winn muttered as they crouched down behind a group of rocks, the massive, sphereical shape of Fort Rozz looming above them just over the next rise “scary, but fun” he added

“So, what’s the plan?” Alex whispered

“We go in there,” Astra pointed to the left “if memory serves there should be a service entrance”

“’If memory serves’?” Alex echoed “you don’t remember?”

“I try not think about this place as much as possible,” Astra muttered “let’s go” she scooped Alex, as J’onn did the same to Winn and both aliens silently took off, crossing the relatively short distance in a few seconds, landing where Astra had indicated

“Oh, great,” Winn hissed as they were confronted with a massive stone wall “now what?” Winn moaned. It looked as if a rockslide had fallen over the entrance, blocking it off completely

“Oh ye of little faith,” Astra smirked and held up a hand and then reached out, as soon as she made contact with the rocks they vanished, replaced by smooth gunmetal grey metal paneling “a mirge effect,” she explained “similar to a hologram but on a telepathic level”

“Awesome” Winn grinned

“Sure,” Astra scoffed “unless you’re trapped in a lifelike hallucination,” she nodded towards a panel set into the metal “let's get to work” she ordered.

While Winn crouched down next to the panel and set about opening the door without setting off any alarms, the other three took up defensive positions…

******

“OK,” Max began as he crawled out from under the console “here’s the hard part”

“Do tell” General Lane sneered

“The trick is to make the symbol appear on everyone’s phones while her speech is being broadcast at the same time,” he explained “but, if I can do that, then I’m an even bigger genus than I thought”

Lane scoffed and tapped his comm.

“Lucy? Any word from our team yet?

“ _Not yet_ ” Lucy replied. Back at the DEO, she exchanged a nervous glance with Superman…

******

“Got it!” Winn hissed, there was a spark and the door silently slid open

“Finally” Alex hissed

“Lucy,” Astra tapped her comm. “we’re in, maintain radio silence,” she ordered "we can't risk anyone overhearing us"

“ _Copy that,_ ” Lucy replied “ _good luck_ ” she added as they swiftly made their way inside, the door sealing shut behind them, sealing them off from the outside world, and leaving them in a darkened corridor dimly lit by what looked like red emergency lighting

“Let’s move” Astra whispered…


	100. Cry Havoc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ONE HUNDRED!!!! Enjoy!

******

_**"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war"**_  


\--William Shakespeare

******

The corridor was eerily silent, the only sound filling the dim red glow was their breathing and footsteps. In the front, Astra swept her rifle from side to side, senses alert for any hint of danger. At the rear, still in the form of Susan Vasquez, J’onn did the same, while in the middle Winn shuffled along, Alex by his side. Winn glanced over at Susan as she swept her rifle up, checking the ceiling

“Can I ask you a question?” he whispered

“Just keep it down” Susan answered, which he took to mean yes

“So, you’re, you know, a guy right?” he began

“I’m male, yes. Was that you’re question?”

“No, so, if you’re…male, then why are you, you know, pretending to, to, be a woman?”

Susan stopped and stared at him. So did Alex and Astra

“Why?” Susan echoed, Winn nodded, she shrugged “why not?” she answered as they kept moving again “I’m a shapeshifter, Winn,” she explained “gender doesn’t really have the same meaning to us as it does to you. On Mars, if someone wanted to be a woman they could be, no questions asked. For us, there wasn’t any stigma against what you would call ‘transgendered’ inviduals. My own wife was actually born a male, but she decided to be female”

“You can continue the lesson later, J’onn,” Astra whispered from the front “we’re at the first door”

“’First’?” Winn asked “you mean that back there wasn’t it?”

“No,” Astra chuckled “that was just a drink before your food comes, this,” she nodded towards the heavy metal door inscribed with Kryptonian symbols on it “…is the appetizer,” she took a breath "everyone remember the plan, our first objective is to find the omegahedron and shut down the wave, barring that we use it against them," she looked back over at Winn and then nodded to the control panel “do your thing” she instructed…

******

“Anything?” Superman asked

“No, not yet” Lucy replied

******

“Got it” Winn nodded as the panel chimed and the doors slid open. The others readied their weapons, but nothing came rushing out to attack them.

Yet

Astra nodded and gestured for them to move forward down another long dimly lit corridor which slopped upwards, opening into a wide area

“Whoa” Alex breathed as she struggled to take in the scope of the place. It was at least as twice as wide as a football field if not larger and just as high. Squinting, Alex could make out what looked like cells or something similar

“The common area,” Astra whispered “used for prisoner recreation” she explained

“So where are we heading?” Susan asked

“There,” Astra pointed straight ahead “keep alert,” she reminded them. She frowned and looked around before finally nodding “let’s go” scooping Alex up while Susan did the same with Winn, they both sped across the wide open space and into the opposite corridor

“You know, I’m actually getting used to that” Winn muttered as Susan set him down

“This way” Astra whispered as they moved down the darkened the corridor

“Where is everybody?” Alex wondered “I mean we haven’t even _heard_ a guard, much less seen one”

“Probably all in their sleeping pods,” Astra shrugged “after all, when the world is at your feet, you don’t need to worry about gurads”

“I think you spoke too soon,” Susan whispered, holding up a hand to stop them “three,” she announced “telepaths, I can sense them”

“Can you block them?” Astra asked

“I can try,” Susan nodded, her eyes began to glow, the red glow blending in with the red lighting “done” she announced. As they watched three, tall, spimdly aliens suddenly came down the corridor, calmly passing by the three agents without a second glance as they continued in the direction that the team had come from

“Whew” Winn breathed a sigh of relief

“Don’t cheer yet,” Susan warned “I can only shield you and Alex, not Astra, and even then it’s only from other telepaths. Any other kind of alien comes here and we’re as good as captured. Or worse”

“All the more reason to keep moving,” Astra nodded “let’s go, the command room should be further down here”

******

There had been two more close calls, one of which can dangerously too close for comfort. It seemed that the deeper they moved into the prison the more crowded it became, they had found themselves ducking for cover more and more the closer they got to the command room. They had only managed to get out of those two close calls after Astra subdued one gurad, and J’onn shapeshifted into Non to distract the other one, sending him/her/it off on a proverbial snipe hunt.

Finally, they edged their way into a large dark room, the only light came from a rounded table in the center

“This is it,” Astra nodded “let’s get to work. Alex, you and J’onn watch our backs. Winn, you and I will try to shut down the signal”

“Got it,” Winn nodded as he began studying the table “O…K, uh, let’s see,” he bent down and began to work a panel off the underside. But as soon as he got it off an alarm began to scream “uh-oh”

“Shit!” Alex spat as there were several gusts of air as a small group of Kryptonians burst in. Taking aim with her rifle she fired, the kryptonite rounds harmlessly bouncing off them thanks to the kryptonite inhibators they were wearing

“I _knew_ this was too easy,” Astra muttered, she glanced down at Winn “keep working,” she ordered, before shooting forward at superspeed, knocking one male Kryptonian away from Alex, while J’onn quickly shed his human form and began to grapple with two others “Alex!” Astra called out “gurad Winn! J’onn and I will handle them!”

“On it!” Alex turned and sprinted over to Winn, just as a dark shape suddenly collided with Astra, pinning her to the ground

“I warned you that the next time we met I would not be lenient” Non hissed as he loomed over her, a hand around her throat. Grunting, Astra worked a leg under him and kicked him away. He somersaulted in the air, managing to stay afloat, bobbing in the air like a balloon

“J’onn! Cover me!” Astra barked out as she took the air, colliding with Non and hurtling them both through a wall.

Meanwhile, huddled under the control table, Alex glanced over at Winn

“Did you find the omegahedron yet?” she demanded

“Not yet”

“Then forget it,” Alex decided “work on finding the transmitter” she ordered, as she glanced back to where Non and Astra had disappeared to…

******

Astra grunted as she tumbled across the floor, struggling to get her bearings as Non marched towards her

“Why do you persist?” he demanded as he gripped her by the throat “Myraid _works_. Accept it, Astra”

“Why do you hesitate?” she countered, struggling to breathe “you’ve had plenty of opportunities to kill me, to kill Kara, but you haven’t. Why?” she grunted as Non tightened his grip “I’ll tell you why,” she panted out “because you still care, because, somewhere, deep down, is the man I used to know, the man I used to trust, the man I used to call my friend,” she gasped as Non’s grip weakened, she rapidly gulped in much-needed air even as she continued “Non, you _know_ that this is wrong,” she choked out “you _know_ that is not the solution, it never was”

“Is this how the director of the DEO pleads for her life?” Non sneered

“I’m not pleading for my life,” Astra shook her head “I’m pleading for _yours_. Non…I’m asking you, I’m _begging_ you…honor our people, help us to stop it”

There was a whoosh as something suddenly collided with him, knocking Astra free

“Sentiment,” Ursa sneered as she straightened up “the Humans have made you _weak_ , Astra, cowardly”

“No,” Astra shook her head as she climbed to her feet “these people, this world, have given me streangth, streangth I never knew I had. You’re the who’s weak, Ursa”

Ursa grinned cruelly as she shifted into a fighting stance

“A good death is its own reward” she hissed…

******

“ _ **Sometime today would be nice, Winn!**_ ” J’onn yelled out as he swung two rat-like aliens into the wall by their tails

“Would everybody stop _yelling_ at me?!” Winn snapped as he dug around in the guts of the controls, glowing, fiber optic-like cables now strewn about around him in a mad tangle “I’m trying to rewire an alien transmitter and everybody keeps yelling”

“Winn! Hurry!” Alex snapped

“Hey, you think it’s easy? Why don’t you try it and I’ll wave the gun around?!” he countered as an explosion suddenly shook the room

“Great,” Alex groaned “reinforcements”

******

At the DEO, both Lucy and Superman looked up at a sudden bang as a Kryptonian male suddenly crashed through the ceiling

“I got him!” Superman shot forward, grappling with him before easily knocking him up and into the ceiling, where he crashed down onto the operations table, stunned “well,” Superman shrugged “he tried”

******

“That’s it! That’s it!” Winn grinned as he yanked his tablet out of his pack, seeing the words ‘TRANSMITTER READY…’ blinking across the screen “I GOT IT!” he called out, only to yell as something suddenly grabbed him and yanked him up. He gasped and kicked as he stared into a large set of insect-like eyes

“ _Humanssss,_ ” the alien hissed in a buzzing voice “ _ssso sssoft and ssssweet!_ ”

“Sorry,” Winn grunted out as he worked a hand into his pocket “but I’m not food!” he thrust his hand up, blasting the alien in the eyes with the can of mace. Sheirking, it promptly dropped him, now frantically clawing at its face with pincer-like hands. Grunting as he hit the floor, Winn scrabbled for the fallen tablet and frantically stabbed the ‘ENTER’ key “Lucy! Lucy! It’s Winn! I got it! I’m in!”

“ _Copy that!_ ” Lucy replied. Back at the DEO, she tapped her own comm.

“Dad? We’re in!” she announced

“They did it” Lane nodded at Max

“OK,” Max gave Kara a thumb’s up “in three….two…one….”

The ON-AIR light flickered on and Kara squared her shoulders

“People of National City,” she began “this is Supergirl…and, and I hope you can hear me. We have been attacked,” she announced “mothers and fathers, children, friends and neighbors. Everyone, suddenly stopped by a force of evil as great as this world has ever known,”

One by one, people throughout the city began to stop and listened

“Your attacker has sought to take your free will,” Kara continued “your individuality, your sprit, everything that makes you who you are,” she took breath “when facing an attack like this, it’s easy to feel hopeless. We retreat, we hide, we lose our strength, and we lose ourselves. I know. I lost everything when I was young. When I first landed on this planet I was scared and alone, but I found out that there is so much love in this world, our there for the taking. And you, the people of National City, you helped me. You let me be who I’m meant to be. You gave me back to myself, you made me stronger than I ever thought possible, and I love you for that. Now, inside each and every one of you, there is a light, a spark, a spirit that cannot be snuffed out. That won’t give up. I need your help again, I need you to hope. Hope. That you will remember that can all be heroes. Hope. That when faced with an enemy determined to destroy your spirit that you will _fight back and thrive_. Hope. That those who once may have shunned you, will, in a moment of crisis, come to your aid. Hope. That you will see again the faces of those you love. And perhaps even those you’ve lost”

One by one, cell phones and computer screens throughout the city lit up a simple image, a symbol of hope and of love, a symbol that waa famous the world over, that didn’t just represent one man or one woman, but an ideal

The Crest of El…

******

“She did it” Alex whispered as she glanced at Winn’s tablet, the Crest of El now staring proudly back at her. An explosion made her jump and duck. Twisting around, she watched as Astra fought an areal battle against and Ursa. Ursa suddenly seemed to get the upper hand, shooting past Astra and heading straight for Alex and Winn. J’onn suddenly phased through the wall, charging for Uras and knocking her back, grappling with her, even through he was clearly weak and injured.

Alex watched as Ursa suddenly knocked J’onn to his knees, but before she could complete the attack, Astra intervened, knocking her aside, before reaching down to help J’onn up. Only to suddenly gasp and jerk as an all too familiar bright green blade suddenly erupted from her chest…

“ASTRA!!” Alex lunged, watching in horrer as the blade was withdrawn, Astra’s whole body jerking violently as she collapsed to the floor, trembling. Behind her, still holding the blade, Ursa smirked

“A good death is its own reward” she hissed triumphantly

“What have you done?” Ursa turned as Non landed behind her, staring at Astra. Slowly, he looked up at Ursa, his hand suddenly shooting out to wrap around her throat “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!!” he roared as he swiftly broke her neck

“Astra!” Alex half ran, half stumbled over to Astra

“Hello,” Astra panted out, she grinned weakly, even as she shook and trembled “guess this is it”

“Don’t try to talk,” Alex urged as she pressed her hands over the wound, trying to steam the blood “we’re going to get you out of here, all right? You’re going to be fine”

“Optimist,” Astra panted out, she reached out and took Alex’s hands “listen to me,” she urged “Alex, listen to me, I don’t have long, so just listen. You, you were remarkable, Alex. You gave me hope, you, not Jeremiah, not Kal-El, not even Kara. You did, and when you find him, I want you to tell…him, that, that I was proud to have met him, even for only a short time, all right? All right?”

Alex frantically shook her head, refusing to listen. It couldn’t end like this, not after all they’d been through, not after Cadmus, and Myriad, it couldn’t, it _couldn’t_

“Alex,” she looked down at Astra’s face, her expression pained, yet…happy “I’m glad I met you, my darling Alex,” she whispered, she squeezed Alex’s hand tightly “you need to go” she urged

“I’m not leaving you here!” Alex insited, Astra smiled softly as she reached up and cupped her cheek

“You have to” she whispered, and even now Alex could hear footsteps, reinforcements arriving in droves

“Alex, we need to go!” she kicked as she felt hands suddenly grab her shoulders, pulling her away from Astra

“No! I’m not leaving her here!” she yelled even as she felr rather than saw J’onn pick her and Winn up and start to carry them off “Astra! ASTRA!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SO sorry!


	101. Better Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We all have better angels, we must simply listen to them. AU of "Better Angels"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ONE HUNDRED AND ONE!!!! Enjoy! :=)

******

The room was dark, quiet, the TV on with the sound muted, even though outside Alex could hear what sounded like a small block party going on outside. Since they succeeded in shutting down Myriad an unofficial celebration of sorts had been happening throughout the city as many people took Supergirl’s speech to heart and, for the moment anyway, ignored past prejudices and came together.

But Alex didn’t feel like celebrating. Alex didn’t feel anything, really, except cold and hollow, because Astra was gone, taken from her, ripped away from her and Kara

Dead.

She ran the word over and over through her mind like a mantra, it still didn’t sound _real_ , she was still half-expecting Alan Funt to suddenly pop up from a corner and tell her that she was on _’Candid Camera’_ , that it was all just some kind of sick, twisted joke.

But it wasn’t. She’d seen Astra die right in front of her, she could still feel the blood, _Astra’s_ blood, on her hands, smell it in the air, that all too familiar, sharp, metallic scent. Burrowing deeper under the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, she picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Kara had left sometime ago, she had offered to spend the night, but Alex had waved it off, telling her to go spend the night with James, that he probably needed her company after today, and Kara had reluctantly agreed.

Astra was dead

It still didn’t sound real.

A loud _bang_ startled her. Bolting off the couch, she dropped to the floor, gun ready, heart pounding. Slowly getting to her feet, she swept the gun around, searching for any signs of danger, but all she saw was the doors to her balcony swing in the breeze. Sighing, she slowly relaxed, the lock must have slipped again she realized, going over and firmly shutting the door, making mental note to yell at the building’s super about it again

“It would so easy to kill you right now”

Spinning around at the sudden voice, Alex snapped her gun up, scowling as Non simply stood there

“Get out” she spat

“I need you to come with me” he said simply

“Fat chance,” Alex scoffed “the last time I saw you, you had a sword buried in my gut!” she spat

“The last time I saw you, you filled my veins with poison,” Non countered “bygones?” he sneered

“Out” she ordered, even though she knew the regular bullets in her gun wouldn’t do anything besides piss him off. She watched as he clenched his jaw, as if reigning in his anger

“I come for Astra,” he said softly, he slowly shook his head “not for myself” he explained

Still not trusting him, Alex slowly lowered the gun…

******

Even though she’d known it was useless, Alex kept a tight grip on her gun as Non flew her a short distance away, to the roof of a building near the water, where six or so other Kryptonians were waiting, standing in a circle around a large metal oval pod of some sort, which floated a few feet off the ground. Alex grunted as Non simply dropped onto the roof, scowling as one of the Kryptonians approached them

“General,” he bowed slightly to Non “we are ready” he announced

“Very well,” Non nodded “leave us”

“At once” the other man nodded, gesturing to the others, who quickly took off, leaving Alex alone with Non. As she watched, Non waved a hand over the pod, its surface became transparent and then seemed to melt away, and Alex swallowed as she realized what it was.

A coffin.

 _Astra’s_ coffin

Astra looked…peaceful as she rested inside the small space, her tattered DEO TAC gear had been removed, replaced with flowing black and silver Kryptonian robes

“She would have wanted you here,” Non explained softly, never taking his eyes away from Astra’s still form “it is our tradition,” he began “that the body of a fallen enemy commander be returned to their army by the commander of victors,” he explained. He paused, fingering a syringe-like device in his hands “she fought well,” he praised “bravely, without fear or without hesitation,” he fingered the object in his hands thoughtfully, as if coming to decision “and she will continue to do so” he vowed, before suddenly stabbing the object down at Astra’s heart.

Instantly Astra jerked up, sucking in a deep breath of air as her eyes flew open.

“What the hell?!” Alex jerked back in shock as Astra writhed and choked and gagged, clutching at her throat as she coughed and gasped for breath. Finally flopping back still coughing, Astra seemed to gather her wits

“Alex,” she wheezed, reaching for the younger woman. She looked between Alex and Non as she finally seemed to catch her breath “oh god this is hell isn’t it?” she groaned “that’s it, I’m in hell, I have to be”

“No, you are very much alive, Astra” Non rasped. Slowly, clearly still in pain, Astra sat up, staring at Non for a long moment

“Why?” she finally asked

“You saved me from a death without honor” he explained, Astra nodded slowly

“And by saving me from a death without honor has your own been satisfied?” she asked, in an almost ritualistic tone

“No” he answered

“Then, what must you do for your honor to be satisfied, Non, Son of Ur?” she asked. In answer, Non bowed his head, hand clutched over his heart

“I place myself within the service of you and your House,” he began “to do with as you wish. If it is my life that you desire, then I offer it to you freely, Astra, Daughter of In-Ze”

“I, Astra, Daughter of In-Ze, Primary of my House, recognize the offer of your service, Non, Son of Ur,” Astra replied “do you pledge to do as asked in the service of my House, without question, without hesitation, forsaking all former oaths or bonds that you have made in the service of your own House?”

“I do”

Slowly, Astra turned to Alex

“Alex,” she nodded “do you, Daughter of Jeremiah Danvers bear witness to the pledge of Non, Son of Ur?”

Blinking, Alex quickly nodded

“Yes” she answered shakily

"Then," Astra turned back to Non "I accept the offer of your service, Non, Son of Ur," she proclaimed as she shakily got to her feet “Alex," she began as Alex rushed to steady her. Astra smirked and nodded towards Non "arrest him” she ordered…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come :=)


	102. Arise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astra's back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter ONE HUNDRED AND TWO! Enjoy! :=)

******

The three of them touched down at the DEO at around ten PM. The revitalized Astra gently dropping through the new hole in the roof to land in Command carrying Alex with her while Non gently glided down after her. As soon as they touched down, armed soliders rushed forward, surrounding them, guns drawn, ready to shoot if they so much as blinked or wrinkled their noses

“Is it Thursday already?” Astra quipped

“Stand down!” Lucy bellowed as she and her father marched forward, a dumbstruck Kara trailing behind. For a moment they simply looked between the three arrivals, looking from Astra, to Alex, to Non, and then back to Astra

“We thought you were dead” General Lane finally remarked, looking Astra up and down

“So did I” Astra commented as Kara suddenly surged forward and wrapped Astra in a tight embrace

"I thought," she began "I thought that...you...died" she gulped, Astra smirked

"Come now, little one," she chuckled as she gently cupped Kara's face "you should know by now that it'll take more than a simple stabbing to keep me down," she chuckled before she nodded towards Non “General Lane, General Non has surrendered himself to my and Agent Danvers custody, I’ve given him assurences that he will not be harmed” she explained

“Take him to cell 19” Lucy called out, as two agents came over to Non, snapped a pair of kryptonite cuffs on his wrists, and then swiftly led him away without a word. As Non and his escorts disappeared around the coner, General Lane turned back to Astra

“How can we be sure that you’re really who you say you are?” he asked

“Test me,” Astra shrugged “I’ve got nothing to hide…”

******

Alex had run the tests personally, and each time the results came up the same

It _was_ Astra, alive and well

“So,” Astra began as she shrugged the sleeve of her robes down “do I pass inspection?”

“The tests comfirmed it,” Alex nodded “you’re…you”

“Good to hear, otherwise I’d want to know who the hell was standing here in my clothes” Astra joked. Alex smirked but the humor didn’t relive the tension she was still feeling

“Just,” she gestured to Astra’s form “how?”

“I’m not really sure,” Astra admitted “unless of course Non used a stasis shot on me”

“A what?” Alex asked

“Oh, sorry. On Krypton, we’d perfected a way to slow the body’s metabolic functions as a way of keeping a person alive until proper medical attention could be given. In combat, our soliders all carried a shot of a drug that slowed down the heart and the pulse to a low enough level that you wouldn’t bleed out or go into shock before the medics got to you”

“So, if Non give you this stuff back at Fort Rozz…” Alex began

“Then my heart and pulse rate would’ve slowed enough to probably mimic death, then he could have had my injuries repaired under the guise of preparing my body for the funeral” Astra nodded

“And the injection Non used to bring you back?”

“A stimulant shot” Astra explained

“Like giving a person with an allergic reaction a shot of adrenaline” Alex realized, Astra nodded

“It would’ve counteracted the other drug in my system and woken me up” she explained. Alex nodded dimly, no longer really listening as she tentatively reached out and touched Astra’s arm, felt the soft, alien fabric of her robes, the warmth of her skin underneath. Trailing her hand down towards Astra’s hand, she gently gripped her wrist, placing her fingers on the inside of her arm, feeling her pulse thrum underneath her fingertips, strong and steady

“I thought I lost you” she whispered

“I thought you did too,” Astra agreed “shall we get out of here?” she asked.

Not trusting herself to speak Alex nodded…

******

They flew back to Alex’s apartment, Astra gently touching down on the balcony, pushing the unlocked door open

“You really should lock these doors,” she commented as they moved into the apartment “you don’t know who might try to get in,” she pointed out. She let out a surprised grunt as Alex suddenly pounced on her, pinning her to the wall, kissing her despretely “easy, easy,” Astra laughed as she pulled away for air “we have all night, my dear” she whispered

“ _Please_ ” Alex pleaded against Astra’s lips, it had so long since she’d been able to touch Astra, truly touch her like she wanted to. First there had been all those weeks spent in the DEO infirmary after Non had stabbed her, then the month where Astra had been imprisoned, and then Myriad where she had thought she’d truly lost Astra

“Shh,” Astra whispered “take your time,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Alex’s waist, pulling her flush “savor the moment…” she whispered as she leaned in for a kiss. And so the night went on as they came together in an ancient dance, skin to skin, hands caressing, exploring intimate places as they held each other close and whispered sweet words of praise and love…

******

Hours later, as they lay in bed together, limbs tangled in the sheets, sweat cooling on their skin, muscles sore and aching in a most delightfull way, Astra gently nudged Alex

“Where’d you go?” she asked. Alex blinked as she came back into focus

“I was just thinking…” she began

“Carefull, that’s dangerous”

“Ha-ha,” Alex deadpanned “no, I was just thinking, why did Non save you?”

Astra sighed

“Honestly? I don’t really know,” she admitted “one could say that it was a matter of honor, repaying a debt he ows me for stopping the ambush back at the hostage exchange, or, alternatively, you could say that he still loves me, that he doesn’t want to see me hurt”

“What do you think?” Alex wondered

“I don’t know,” Astra admitted “I suppose we may never find out, seeing as how he’s doing the strong and silent thing at the moment,” she shrugged, scowling as her cell phone rang. Grumbling, she reluctantly untangled herself from Alex and rolled over, plucking the cell phone off the nightstand “this had better be good,” she snarled into the device. She sat up slightly “what do you mean ‘expanding’? How can it be expanding?...all right…no, she’s here with me…right, ETA is…three minutes, right,” she hung up and then threw off the covers “get dressed,” she ordered “we’ve got a situation”

“What kind of ‘situation’?” Alex asked as she threw off the covers and began hunting for her clothes

“Myriad is still active”


	103. Amplification

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double Update! Chapter ONE HUNDRED AND THREE! Enjoy! :=)

******

“What do you mean it’s still active?” Alex demanded as she, Astra, Kara, Lucy, Winn, Susan, and General Lane all gathered around the operations table in Command “I thought we took the omegahedron with us?”

“There wasn’t enough time,” Susan shook her head “all Supergirl’s speech did was snap everyone out form under its influence, we didn’t actually shut the wave itself down”

“It started up again about an hour ago,” Winn picked up “stronger than last time, into the terahertz range. It’s like…like they’re using an uzi against a mosquito” he explained

“And we’re the mosoquito” Alex sighed

“What’s powering it?” Lane asked

“Take a look” Susan nodded to the screens, alien symbols scrolling down their surface

“Coluan” Astra recognized

“Indigo,” Kara snarled “but, wait, I though you and Astra took care of her, I mean you tore her in half”

“Somehow I don’t think that would seriously hurt her,” Lucy commented “at least not completely”

“No, probably not,” Winn sighed, rubbing at his temples, wincing “she dosen’t really have a body, right? She’s just pure information, code, so…as long as she’s got, you know, something to contain her code…” he trailed off, wincing

“I’ll go and shut it down” Kara vowed

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy,” Astra warned, she pulled up a diagram on the screens “the wave’s embeeded in the satellite network now, it’s expanding across the state; soon it’ll hit Oregon, Washington State, and the rest of Nevada”

“How much time do we have?” Alex asked, wincing at the pressure in her head, pushing behind her eyes, plugging her ears up, and making her head feel heavy

“Two hours,” Susan reported “maybe less”

“Then our heads all go boom” Winn groaned

“All right,” Astra declared “J’onn, get as many agents as you can and get to those satellite farms, blow them up if you have to, but shut them _down_. In the meantime, Supergirl and I will go to Fort Rozz and try to shut down from there. Agent Danvers, you’re in charge while I’m gone”

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” Alex exclaimed “you just came back from the _dead_ , Astra!”

“Going back into Fort Rozz is too dangerous to send one agent in alone,” Astra explained “besides,” she added “I need someone I trust who’ll keep things in place in case this gets worse”

“Just…,” Alex faltered as she watched them turn to walk away “…be careful, please?” she pleads

“Here,” Kara slipped off her necklace, the only reminder she had of Alura, of her home, and held it out to Alex, gently dropping it into her palm “keep it safe for me?” she asked

“Yeah, sure” Alex answered casualy, as if Kara was just stepping out to get the mail or the morning paper, not going to an alien prison to shut down a weapon that would kill them all in under two hours

“Be safe” Astra instructed, her robes fluttering as she and Kara took off, flying straight up through the hole in the roof. It was fitting, Alex thought, that Astra was dressed in Kryptonian robes as she went off to shut down Myriad.

Robes that she wore while inside of a coffin…

******

“ _Agent Danvers?_ ” General Lane asked over the comm. his voice sounded tired, pained

“Here,” Alex answered, wincing as the pressure in her eyeballs throbbed at the sound of his voice in her ear “what’s your status, General?” she requested

“ _We’ve…,_ ” he took a pained breath “ _we’ve disabled four of the six satellite farms,_ ” he reported “ _but it looks like J’onn J’onzz is having trouble trying to shield all of us from the wave_ ”

“J’onn,” Alex switched channels on her comm. “stop trying to shield them,” she instructed “all you’re doing is hurting yourself”

“ _Understood_ ” J’onn panted out over the comm.

“Winn, how much time do we have?” Alex asked

“Less then six minutes,” Winn panted out as he slowly climbed out of his chair and laid down on the floor under the console next to Lucy, curling around her almost automatically “we’re almost at crtitcal” he added, panting hard. Wincing, Alex lifted her head and looked at the counter displayed on the monitors

00:05:00

Five minutes, she realized

“ _Alex!_ ” she jumped at Kara’s voice

“Supergirl, what’s going on over there?” she asked

“ _We couldn’t shut down Myriad,_ ” Kara reported “ _Indigo locked the system,_ " she heard Kara gulp “ _I’m going to fly Fort Rozz into space _” she announced__

____

“That is not an option, Kara!” Alex snarled “you don’t even know if you can lift it into orbit, and even if you can, even _if_ , once you’re in space you won’t be able to breathe, you won’t be able to generate thrust, you won’t be able to get back”

____

“ _I’m Supergirl,_ ” Kara chuckled breathlessly “ _watch me,_ ”

____

“Wha, what about Astra,” Alex demanded “what does she think about this?”

____

“ _She agrees with me,_ ” Kara answered “ _I’m sending her back. You’re going to need her after this_ ”

____

“Damn it, Kara! There has to be another way!”

____

_“ _There isn’t,_ ” Kara sighed “and this is what I sent here to do, protect the Earth, you said it yourself. And everything good I’ve ever done, it all came from you being my sister_”

____

“Kara—”

____

“ _I need you to promise me something,_ ” Kara interrupted gently “ _when you find Jeremiah, I want to tell him that I never stopped wearing the glasses. Promise me that you and Astra will have a good life, a happy life, that you’ll get to do all the things that being my sister prevented you from doing with her_ ”

____

“Kara, please…”

____

“ _Alex, there isn’t much time, promise me. Please_ ”

____

Alex took a breath, swallowed down her fear, her anger, her sadness, and said two little words

____

“I…promise” it was a hollow promise, a promise she couldn’t make, but it was enough for Kara

____

“ _Good,_ ” Kara sighed “ _I have to go now_ ”

____

“I love you, Kara” Alex choked out

____

“ _I love you too_ ” Kara breathed over the comm., then, there’s a crackle of static, and then nothing

____

“Kara?” Alex called out “Kara?!” nothing, no response. A quiet whoosh made her turn to see Astra gently touch down behind her. Alex took a breath, ready to screme at Astra for not doing anything, for not trying to stop Kara, for agreeing with her crazy plan, but the greif-stricken expression on Astra’s face stopped her cold, so instead, she limped forward and threw her arms around Astra’s neck, quietly sobbing into the fabric of her robes..

____

She suddenly felt Astra stiffen, pulling back she looked up to see a look of utter surprise cross Astra’s face as she turned and stared at Kara’s pod. Slowly, Alex looked over at the pod, gapping as an idea--an utterly stupid, so-crazy-it-might just worl—idea began to form. She looked back at Astra, seeing a similar expression on her face

____

“I’ve got an idea!” they both said at once. Breaking apart they charged towards the pod. Grunting, Astra quickly rammed her shoulder against it, pushing it towards the center of the room

____

“All right,” Astra said as she reached into the cockpit, fingers flying over the controls with a practiced ease and skill “I’ll need you to guide me in” she instructed

____

“I can do it” Alex insited, Astra shook her head as she climbed inside

____

“It’ll take too long to show you how to operate it,” she declared “guide me in” she repeated

____

“Right,” Alex nodded “bring her home” she pleaded, Astra smirked as the pod gently floated up off its moorings

____

“I intend to” she said as the canopy shimmered into place, the pod silently floating up into the, it’s wing-like structures extending as it pointed up and then shot through the roof in a shower of rocks and dust…

____


	104. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything must come to an end...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! Enjoy! The final chapter!

******

Kara blinked as she opened her eyes, her head hurt, her whole body hurt actually. Wincing, she looked around, realizing that she was back at the DEO. She frowned at the image of James asleep in a chair nearby as she tried to sit up

“Easy” she looked over at the voice, seeing Alex reach out and steady her

“What happened?” she asked, Alex let out a breathless laugh

“You saved the world,” she whispered “and then Astra and I saved you with your pod,” she chuckled “you’re not the only badass in this family”

“Guess not” Kara agreed

“I wanted to give this back to you,” Alex gently, reverently, slipped off Alura’s necklace and gently placed it into Kara’s palm as she looked back towards James “he’s been there since we brought you back,” Alex explained

“I’m surprised Astra let him in” Kara muttered

“Actually, she’s the one who brought him over,” Alex explained, she smiled “there are a lot of people out there who want to say thank you” she added…

******

Command burst out into raucous applause as they walked in, and Kara grinned as Winn and Lucy pulled her into a hug, followed by Susan. Standing a ways back, now dressed in DEO black, Astra smiled and pulled Kara into a tight hug

“You did well, little one,” she smiled as she pulled away “can I have your attention, please?” she called out, waiting until the room quieted “I’ve just spoken with the President and General Lane, they’re both indebted to you, Supergirl, and they’re also aware of the courage we all showed today. It is with great pleasure that I announce that every single one of you will all be receiving a citation of merit for your efforts today”

The room burst into applause

“Also,” Astra added once they quieted down “on a more personnel note, Maxwell Lord has been arrested again”

“Again?” Alex asked “what for?”

“It seems he tried to make off with our formula for kryptonite,” Astra explained “needless to say, he _won’t_ be getting that reduced sentence after all”

“Good” Lucy chuckled

“That reminds me, agent Lane,” Astra began “you preformed you’re duties as director in my absence remarkably and with the highest integrity”

“Thank you, ma’am” Lucy nodded

“Which brings me to a question,” Astra chuckled “care for a promotion…deputy director Lane?”

“I…I don’t know what to say” Lucy breathed

“Generally, the answer is ‘yes’.” Astra remarked

“Hey, go on,” Winn encouraged, nudging Lucy playfully “take it”

“I…,” Lucy took a breath “I accept”

“Good” Astra smiled

“Director?” agent Greenway called out “uh, I’m not sure, ma’am, but…I think we might be under attack?”

“Agent Greenway,” Astra began with a sigh “considering what we have all been through in the past forty-eight hours, could I possibly trouble you to be more specific?”

“Uh, it’s a….’Dr. Eliza Danvers’, ma’am,” she reported, cringing “she says she wants to see her daughter. Now”

“Oh no,” Alex gulped “Mom, I didn’t tell her what happened!”

“Wait,” Winn began “you mean that you didn’t call your Mom after Myriad and tell her that you were all right?” he asked

“Uh-huh” Alex cringed

“Boy, I’m glad I’m not you right now” he muttered

“Let the good doctor in, agent,” Astra instructed, she glanced at Alex, smirking “please _try_ to keep the yelling to a minimum” she added as an angry voice suddenly bellowed out

“ALEXANDRA DANVERS!!” 

“I’m dead” Alex hissed…

******

Hours later, after Eliza had calmed down and agreed to _not_ kill Alex (at least for the moment), she, Alex, Kara, James, Lucy, Winn, Susan, and Astra all gathered at Kara’s apartment for dinner

“Astra, I had no idea that you knew how to cook” Eliza chuckled

“Ah, I dabble,” Astra dismissed as she helped set the table, frowning as Eliza stared at her “what?” she asked

“Nothing,” Eliza shook her head “it’s just…do you believe what your friend J’onn J’onzz said about Jeremiah? About him still being alive?”

“I’ve never know J’onn to be wrong,” Astra commented, she smiled and reached out and took Eliza’s hand “we will find him” she vowed

“I know” Eliza smiled

“Hey guys!” Kara called out, waving them over. She grinned as they came over “ladies and gentlemen,” she began in a dramatic voice as she held up a bottle of champagne “the champagne trick!” she proclaimed. There was a pop as the cork flew out of the bottle, the contents bubbling over

“I propose a toast,” Susan declared, holding her glass up “to Supergirl”

“No,” Kara shook her head “to family,” she decided “love bonds us all”

“I’ll drink to that,” Astra agreed, one arm wrapped around Alex’s waist “to family”

“To family” they all chorused, clinking their glasses together…

******

**One week later…**

Alex grunted as the smell of something cooking reached her nose. Shuffling out of bed, she stumbled into the kitchen to find Astra at the stove

“Good morning” Astra smiled

“Morning,” Alex grumbled “is that coffee I smell?”

“It is,” Astra confirmed, swiftly pouring her a cup “there you are”

“Thanks,” Alex mumbled as she took a sip, feeling a tad more awake “not that I’m complaining,” she began “but, uh, what are you doing here?”

“Ah,” Astra smiled “it seems that, during my imprisonment in the DEO, the lease to my apartment expired, so now I have nowhere to stay,” she smirked as she shut off the stove, scooping out a large pancake onto a plate “unless, of course,” she began “you might know someone who’d be willing to take me in as a roommate?”

Alex chuckled

“I… _might_ know someone” she chuckled

“Oh?” Astra chuckled as she sat down at the small dining table “anyone I might know?”

“You might” Alex nodded

“Good,” Astra chuckled “very good” and as she leaned in to place a gentle kiss on Alex’s lips, Alex thought back to when she had first met Astra in that jail cell, she remembered how, even then she'd been captivated by Astra, by her strength, her conviction, her compassion.

She'd never thought she'd end up working in an organization that hunted down alien threats, that her boss would end up being an alien, that she end up falling in love with said alien. A Kryptonian, a general.

A strange visitor from another world

Astra

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! We're done! The final chapter of "Strange Visitor", whoo, what a ride! I hope everyone enjoyed it from start to finish and to those of you who just discovered this fic and made it to here, congratulations, you win...well, nothing, really, sorry, but I do applaud you for making to the end.
> 
> When I first started writing this thing I had no idea that it would go past 100 hundred chapters and spawn a sequel (already in the works) ,actually when I first wrote this down, I wasn't intending it to go past Chapter Two, but the plot bunnies attacked (they bite really hard too! :=).
> 
> Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who left kudos and comments for this fic, I hope you all enjoyed the ride as much as I did, and I hope you'll all keep an eye out for the next installment of What we are, and for the sequal to "Strange Visitor", "Strange Visitations". Thanks again
> 
> AXEe :=)

**Author's Note:**

> Well? what'd you think?
> 
> For those of you who are wondering, I'm not saying that J'onn doesn't exist in this world, merely that Jeremiah met and saved Astra instead, just in case that wasn't clear


End file.
